next_to_normal (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
next_to_normal) wrote2010-09-25 02:56 pm
next_to_normal) wrote2010-09-25 02:56 pm
Entry tags:
Doctors and gender
Question for the ladies: Is gender a factor when you're picking a doctor?
This is something that's been on my mind, as I am once again perusing my insurance company's provider directory (which I hate doing, btw - exactly how much can you tell from a listing that tells you the doctor's name, address, and medical school?). It may be more of an issue for younger women, since, as my mother pointed out once, you're pretty likely to be comfortable with male doctors if you didn't have a choice when you first started going. But regardless of age, I'm curious whether or not you have a preference.
And if you do, is it for all doctors, or just certain specialties? Have you had prior experiences that led to these preferences? Do you feel that a female doctor has a better understanding of your body/issues/lifestyle? Do you feel that, because you're a woman, a female doctor will take you more seriously than a male doctor would? In choosing a doctor, is gender more important than other factors, such as office location, reputation, or length of wait time for an appointment?
I definitely feel more comfortable talking to a female doctor about whatever's wrong with me - and the more vulnerable I feel talking about it, the more the doctor's gender matters to me. I can talk about a toothache with anyone, no problem, but my mental health? Absolutely prefer a woman. Except that's how I picked my current therapist and I hate her. :-P But I still would prefer to find another woman, because I just cannot imagine feeling comfortable expressing my feelings to a male therapist. When I first started going to the gynecologist, the idea of having a male doctor responsible for my girly bits weirded me out (though I've since gotten over that). In general, I tend to think that male doctors won't take me seriously, or they won't understand why I feel the way I do.
The thing is, my experiences with doctors haven't necessarily borne that out. On average, my experience with female doctors is that they don't necessarily understand me better, and they're not necessarily more sympathetic or respectful than the male doctors I've seen. Some of my worst experiences have been with female doctors, and some of my favorite doctors have been male. My family doctors growing up, my gastroenterologist, my gynecologist, my ophthalmologist, my ENT, even my dentist - all are male, mostly after bad experiences with female doctors. (Oh, although I did prefer my female endocrinologist and dermatologist, even though I don't see either of them anymore... and now I'm starting to wonder if most people see as many specialists as I do, lol.) So it's intriguing to me that whenever I go back to the directory, I still find myself immediately gravitating toward female names.
This is something that's been on my mind, as I am once again perusing my insurance company's provider directory (which I hate doing, btw - exactly how much can you tell from a listing that tells you the doctor's name, address, and medical school?). It may be more of an issue for younger women, since, as my mother pointed out once, you're pretty likely to be comfortable with male doctors if you didn't have a choice when you first started going. But regardless of age, I'm curious whether or not you have a preference.
And if you do, is it for all doctors, or just certain specialties? Have you had prior experiences that led to these preferences? Do you feel that a female doctor has a better understanding of your body/issues/lifestyle? Do you feel that, because you're a woman, a female doctor will take you more seriously than a male doctor would? In choosing a doctor, is gender more important than other factors, such as office location, reputation, or length of wait time for an appointment?
I definitely feel more comfortable talking to a female doctor about whatever's wrong with me - and the more vulnerable I feel talking about it, the more the doctor's gender matters to me. I can talk about a toothache with anyone, no problem, but my mental health? Absolutely prefer a woman. Except that's how I picked my current therapist and I hate her. :-P But I still would prefer to find another woman, because I just cannot imagine feeling comfortable expressing my feelings to a male therapist. When I first started going to the gynecologist, the idea of having a male doctor responsible for my girly bits weirded me out (though I've since gotten over that). In general, I tend to think that male doctors won't take me seriously, or they won't understand why I feel the way I do.
The thing is, my experiences with doctors haven't necessarily borne that out. On average, my experience with female doctors is that they don't necessarily understand me better, and they're not necessarily more sympathetic or respectful than the male doctors I've seen. Some of my worst experiences have been with female doctors, and some of my favorite doctors have been male. My family doctors growing up, my gastroenterologist, my gynecologist, my ophthalmologist, my ENT, even my dentist - all are male, mostly after bad experiences with female doctors. (Oh, although I did prefer my female endocrinologist and dermatologist, even though I don't see either of them anymore... and now I'm starting to wonder if most people see as many specialists as I do, lol.) So it's intriguing to me that whenever I go back to the directory, I still find myself immediately gravitating toward female names.
no subject
Like you, I've chosen female doctors in the past, figuring it would be easier to talk to them and that they would take my concerns more seriously. Wrong! It turns out that no doctor really listens to her or his patients. I spent over 2 years trying to tell my (female) PCP that I was seriously ill, but she kept telling me it was all in my head. When I switched doctors, I got to see her notes. At one point, she had written that "patient has looked up a disease on the Internet and is now convinced she has it." Grr! (It turned out that in fact I do have that particular rare disease.)
My next PCP after her was male, but he's no better. Any time I went to see him, he took 3 seconds to listen to my problem, 1 second to dismiss it, and 5 minutes to give me a lecture about the importance of vitamin D. So now I'm looking for a new PCP yet again.
This time around, I'm beginning to think I'll use a criterion other than gender—perhaps choosing randomly or choosing one with a last name that is short and easy to spell (since I'm constantly having to provide my doctor's name to other doctors and medical facilities).
no subject
Aww, I wouldn't say that. I love my GI doc and my ob/gyn.
At one point, she had written that "patient has looked up a disease on the Internet and is now convinced she has it."
WHAT. That's really shitty. This is why I'm always paranoid about what they're writing in my chart. :)