You Only Have One Chance to Make a First Impression: Student Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Healthcare Team Members’ First Impressions of Professional Attributes Based on Pharmacist Appearance

The popularity and prevalence of body modifications has increased in recent years. Thirty-two percent of adults in the United States have tattoos.1 In healthcare education, requirements have traditionally been more conservative and required tattoos be covered and face piercings removed to appear professional and not distract from patient care.Goals, objectives, and purpose: To examine student pharmacists’ perceptions regarding professional appearance and potential impact on healthcare provider and patient impressions.Methods/Methodology: Pharmacy students from each professional year (P1-P4) were asked to complete a voluntary online 54-item survey. The survey focused on student pharmacists’ professional appearance, including how appearance may impact healthcare provider and patient first impressions of professionalism, knowledge, approachability, trustworthiness, caring, confidence, and reliability. Most questions utilized Likert-scale responses with one open-ended item asking students to provide thoughts on professional appearance for pharmacy professionals. Responses were analyzed descriptively with frequencies and percentages. The open-ended question was analyzed through a thematic analysis process with four researchers utilizing individual open coding and category formation, followed by group discussion to identify consensus themes.Results/Findings: 372 students (85%) completed the survey. Students perceived healthcare professionals’ and patients’ first impressions as negative for most attributes. Least negative body modification was tattoos, which were considered neutral in some attribute domains. Unkempt head and facial hair was negative across all attributes because it was connected to poor hygiene. Six themes were identified from open-ended responses, including personal beliefs, generational differences, appearance doesn’t represent professionalism, degrees of modifications, personal hygiene, and standards of professionalism.Conclusions, implications, and/or curiosities: In society, there is a trend toward less conservative appearances. The professional appearance of health care professionals has traditionally remained conservative, but in recent years has been tested by the desire for personal expression. Student perceptions regarding what is considered professional vary and are important for health profession programs to understand as we guide them in their professional development.