I absolutely agree - to the point where you are catering to admissions officers and hiring admins. Many of the comments here, however, make it seem as if you have an obligation/responsibility to your patients not to dye your hair, and that wishing to do so is reckless and poor patient care.
Which specialty are you?
I know, at least when I see residents in the ER and ICU, their appearance is a little more relaxed. For example, I saw a resident with hair like this once before:
Probably why I always figured my hair would be fine, this thread is what got me nervous.
Trauma surgeons seem to be pretty wild too. I've seen ponytails on some of the older guys and an Asian girl with red highlights.
I'm not saying that it couldn't possibly be true. I'm honestly curious. I want to know if there have been any actual studies on the matter.
The initial snarkiness apparently represents how some ppl in this field (across multiple generations) feel about the colored hair. It's better that the OP hears this on sdn rather than in other settings.
So I have to pretend to be whoever the patient most respects? Should I pretend to be racist if it will make a racist patient listen to me better? Should I make fun of fatties with my patient if that's what they do and that attitude helps my patient maintain their ideal body weight? Where do we draw the line in our responsibility? What if my patients often have dyed hair and piercings and would prefer someone who more resembles their ideal, and not someone they consider uptight and out of touch? (not saying that's my stance on the typical professional look, just presenting a description I've heard frequently.) Conveniently, we seem to draw that line exactly where it fits in with the ideals of the admins...what a coincidence.
I will not do anything which is specifically intended to make them uncomfortable, and I will adjust my tone and presentation to best communicate with them. I will dress professionally when interacting with them. However, that does not mean that I feel obligated to let hypothetical concerns about their biases to dictate how I look outside the office as well.
Typical professional look does not include unnatural hair colors. As a premed/medical student/doctor, you should aim to embody professionalism. People are coming to you in their time of need. You dress and act professionally and you act in a serious manner because that is simply how these things are done.
If I was you (OP), I'd dye it naturally for interviews, and switch it back after you get in. No one is going to fire you straight away, I'd wait until a boss says something and then alter it if I got in trouble. If no one challenges it, keep it in I suppose.
Yes, and clearly I will do so for interviews, that's not a question. That doesn't mean that the subject does not deserve to be discussed.
To both of you: you can be dressed professionally and have your hair professionally styled and put together and still have color in it. 'Dyed' is not the opposite of 'groomed'.
It's fine for a preclinical student who isn't seeing patients to have purple hair. In the same way that it's fine to wear torn jeans, a t-shirt and flip flops to class but not to clinic/on the wards, it's fine to wear purple hair to class, but not to clinic/on the wards. Once you hit third year, or once you start seeing patients if you go to one of the more progressive schools that let you start seeing patients earlier than that, it's time to look like the professional you are about to be.
Dyed hair simply does not look professional. To quote another forum user "It's along the same lines as someone who doesn't bother to iron their outfit or who carries a big stupid purse to an interview. It just says that you don't think ahead and/or you don't care. Or are immature enough to be idealistic to the point where you think that in real life, you won't be judged on such things. That's all fine and well, but the people who will be hiring you don't want to work with people like that. It's just a way of the world."
The difference is real: some places just don't tolerate longer hair. Our department had a rule about it and I know many others do as well.
You're older than me.
One of them is the preparation you put into on a daily basis for your specific job. If I am going into the office, I will wear professional clothing.
Lordy, lordy, look who's forty....HEY!!! Barely!!
I personally struggle to consider either of these studies a true representation of how patients react to doctors who have a more unusual look, such as dyed hair or piercings.
You have a shockingly low opinion of the intelligence of most people, then. If someone shows up to a meeting with you in torn jeans, that is clearly a reflection on their preparation for this interaction. However, few people take others' hairstyles personally, even if they dislike it or judge the person for the color.
That's not true. Hair and teeth are two of the things individuals noticed first, and often what people form their opinions off of. If you saw someone with a Mohawk, I can almost guarantee you the average person is going to form an opinion on them based off of that, without knowing anything else about the individual.
They judge you, sure. I don't deny that.
If it only impacts a few people, well, my weight or my skin color or my accent probably does as much. The sleep lines under my eyes one day will do the same.
Would you show up with a Mohawk to court? This is no different than showing up to a hospital with colored hair. In both situations, you are supposed to appear outwardly professional. Unfortunately at this point in time, colored hair in all but a few singular instances has not been deemed professional.
No, you cannot. But you can minimize the amount of things they will find objectionable about you. You cannot change your weight or skin color or accent (within reason, for all of these). You can change the color of your hair.
No, the court analogy parallels showing up to an interview with a mohawk, not the hospital.
Where do you draw the line between what is reasonable to expect people to change for themselves personally and what is not? Your 'within reason' is exactly the point...this is all a judgement call.
I am speaking from the perspective in which the individual is acting as a lawyer.
I already stated several times that I would do so for an interview, and in fact, my hair has always been very conservative and normal with the exception of one spring break in college.
Matter for what? I'm not trying to get in my patients' pants. If a few of my patients are that uncomfortable with it, they can request a different doctor. That's fine - not all relationships are meant to work out. I've left doctors for far more subtle reasons (despite their professional hair).
I am not arguing that first impressions do not matter. I think you're misunderstanding my point.
Wow, you do not listen at all.
So now you advocate that all docs should lose weight to better relate to their patients?
This is what I meant, but did not explain well at all, by my comment that it didn't matter unless people walked out of the office upon seeing blue hair. Yes, there is an initial judgement, but because the patient is already in the office with you and speaking to you, I feel that the rest of the office visit would be more important.
Right, because people automatically find you sensitive if your hair is brown and in a bowl cut.
I have spent my entire adult life listening to my patients and the patients of my residents and students. I am speaking now for them, not the "establishment."
