There are so many things to say about sexism in medicine.... I could write for days and days and not cover them all. So I've chosen to focus not on the sexism experienced DIRECTLY in medicine (pay discrepancies, attitudes, old-boys-club mentalities, etc) but rather on the sexism that exists AROUND the field... in other words, the public's perception of medicine and its practitioners.
I had forgotten how early the sexism starts in the medical education process until my cousin's daughter, in her first year of medical school, commented on something that used to drive me NUTS when I was in her place. Whenever she tells someone (who doesn't know her, obviously) that she is studying "medicine," they say, "oh, you're going to be a nurse?" That used to drive me bonkers! If you're studying nursing, you say you're studying nursing. Now, I know one could argue that those outside the field wouldn't necessarily know the correct lingo... True, but no-one would think of asking that same question of a man who said they were "studying medicine." Both medicine (i.e., "doctoring") and nursing are valid, respected professions, but they are not the same thing, and the assumption that, because of one's gender, one's choice of career is restricted to one or the other is what grates.
I had forgotten how early the sexism starts in the medical education process until my cousin's daughter, in her first year of medical school, commented on something that used to drive me NUTS when I was in her place. Whenever she tells someone (who doesn't know her, obviously) that she is studying "medicine," they say, "oh, you're going to be a nurse?" That used to drive me bonkers! If you're studying nursing, you say you're studying nursing. Now, I know one could argue that those outside the field wouldn't necessarily know the correct lingo... True, but no-one would think of asking that same question of a man who said they were "studying medicine." Both medicine (i.e., "doctoring") and nursing are valid, respected professions, but they are not the same thing, and the assumption that, because of one's gender, one's choice of career is restricted to one or the other is what grates.
This only got worse (or maybe just more annoying) as the training went on. In residency (in possession of an MD degree), I would walk into a room, dressed in surgical scrubs identical to those of the male surgeons, and the patient who happened to be on the phone would say, "I have to go, the nurse is here." I would walk down the hospital hallways, dressed in those same scrubs, often with a white coat, and patients would call out, "Nurse!" from their rooms. And this didn't just happen to me; all the female residents told the same stories. (for another take on this, see the last paragraph)
Now, I must clarify here that it by no means an insult to be mistaken for a nurse, those hard-working individuals that power the hospital machine. I am only complaining about the assumption that, as a woman, I could not possibly be a physician.
I complained about this until one of our black residents (male), said, "yeah, they think I'm the orderly." That shut me up for a while. However, racism in medicine is another whole can of worms that I shall not open today (although I have asked a friend to guest-blog on the topic, so stay tuned!).
Now, I must clarify here that it by no means an insult to be mistaken for a nurse, those hard-working individuals that power the hospital machine. I am only complaining about the assumption that, as a woman, I could not possibly be a physician.
I complained about this until one of our black residents (male), said, "yeah, they think I'm the orderly." That shut me up for a while. However, racism in medicine is another whole can of worms that I shall not open today (although I have asked a friend to guest-blog on the topic, so stay tuned!).
Back to residency ... I would go to the grocery store on the way home, still dressed in those scrubs because who has the energy to change after a 36-hour shift, and the cashier, usually a woman, would ask at what hospital I was a nurse. I would say (I'm sure in a testy, sleep-deprived tone of voice), "Actually, I'm a doctor." Then they would get all flustered and murmur something about me "looking so young." Yeah, right. If Doogie Howser walked in there wearing his scrubs, they would not have asked his 12-year-old self if he was a nurse. I doubt they would have asked him if he was a candy striper, either, something much more appropriate for his age than a physician. (fun fact: autocorrect wants me to type "candy stripper" - which is more sexist?)
image credit: hellogiggles.com
Now I'd been largely sheltered from overt sexism in my pre-med-school life, so I didn't really think of it as a huge issue that needed solving. I didn't really see it, even when it was subtly happening to me. Until it began to affect me directly, in undeniable ways. Once I started to bump up against that glass ceiling, it was suddenly obvious. Now, of course, I see it everywhere. Once our eyes are opened, we can't unsee. I'll stop here, because I know the new convert is the worst kind of prosyletizer, and I've harped on enough...
Just a final thought: a friend of mine, in nursing, pointed out that patients have people wandering in and out of their room all day long, and that patients just want to be cared for, so they ask for that care from whomever happens to wander by. Good and fair points, spoken with a clarity and perspective I did not have at the time. But patients, as human beings, still make gender and race assumptions about the people walking into their room. Until those assumptions are questioned, people like my cousin's daughter are continuing to fight an uphill battle that should have been over long ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment