Attitude of patients and colleagues to a physician with visible body art attributes

UDC: 340.6
BBC: 51.1(2)6

Golenkov A., Dolgova E., Mikhaylova V.

Attitude of patients and colleagues to a physician with visible body art attributes

Keywords: tattoos, piercing, prevalence, attitude towards the doctor with body art, population, medical students

Currently there is an increase in popularity of body art varieties among young people, including future doctors. The purpose of the work was to study the opinion of population in general and that of medical students about the effect of visible tattoos and piercing on a doctor’s professional image. A total of 400 residents of the town of Cheboksary (133 men and 267 women), aged 16 to 70 (mean age – 38,1±15,7 years old), and 600 students of the Chuvash State University medical faculty (107 young men and 493 girls) (100 people per course) were surveyed. A questionnaire consisting of 10 questions was used. Mathematical-statistical processing was carried out using descriptive statistics and the 2 test. Tattoos and piercings adversely affect the doctor’s image. Trust to such specialists decreases; there appears reluctance to seek assistance with them, since these attributes of body art are associated with manifestations of eccentricity and aggression. Men under 40, senior medical students, respondents with tattoos and piercings were more tolerant to a doctor with visible manifestations of body art. From 3,4 to 9,8% of respondents (men more often than women) had tattoos, from 0,6 to 4,9% (mostly people under 40) had piercings, up to 2% (more often than in population in general) had tattoos and piercings simultaneously. Senior students generally had more body art elements compared to junior students. Tattoos and piercing worsen a doctor’s image and his perception by the population, that is why they should be hidden from the view of patients, so as not to violate the professional dress code and the treatment process.

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About authors

Долгова Екатерина Геннадьевна: студентка VI курса медицинского факультета, Chuvash State University, Russia, Cheboksary (docatherine@yandex.ru; )

Михайлова Валентина Викторовна: студентка V курса медицинского факультета, Chuvash State University, Russia, Cheboksary (valentina9583@gmail.com; )

Golenkov Andrey V.: Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Medical Psychology and Neurology, Chuvash State University, Russia, Cheboksary (golenkovav@inbox.ru; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3799-0736)

Article link

Golenkov A., Dolgova E., Mikhaylova V. Attitude of patients and colleagues to a physician with visible body art attributes [Electronic resource] // Acta medica Eurasica. – 2018. – №1. P. 9-14. – URL: https://acta-medica-eurasica.ru/en/single/2018/1/2/.

Single article

Golenkov A., Dolgova E., Mikhaylova V.