I’m a female, but I’m not a feminist. You’d never hear me say that being a woman is difficult. Being a woman in medicine is a different story.
How many times during a shift should I have to correct a patient for calling me ‘nurse’ when I just introduced myself as their doctor? How many times should I be mistaken for cleaning staff or a technician? How much time during my shift should I spend helping patients off of bed pans and bringing them blankets before I correct them? Does it even matter? How should I feel?
All of the years spent studying—missing birthdays, weddings, and funerals…putting my personal life on hold—to become ‘doctor’ makes me feel like it should matter.
What’s a reasonable number of times to have my authority challenged, to be doubted, to be unreasonably questioned by my patients and their families, based on my gender and appearance? To introduce myself as “Dr. Buckingham’ and in return be addressed by my first name? How does a professional woman respond to these challenges?
Won’t adversity make me stronger, more resilient? Maybe even a better clinician? Shouldn’t I just ‘suck it up’ and learn to overcome? These are core beliefs that have been engrained in me, largely by the House of medicine.
But the pit I feel in the bottom of my stomach, in knowing that my patient interactions are different than those of my male counterparts, makes me question the House and its values, as well as my own.
I am a female physician, who in the past would have cringed at being labeled a feminist.
So, how should I feel?
Curious why you should cringe at being labelled a feminist? All it means is that you believe women should have the same opportunities to pursue their life goals and dreams as men do — be paid equitable, and be treated with the same respect and dignity at work and at home as men enjoy. Men and women can be feminists. I suggest you embrace the term. How should you respond to the constant slights you experience — I recommend (1) politely correcting people or identifying your correct credentials and (2) sharing your experience with others to increase awareness of how… Read more »
This reads more like prose, and it seems more like an expression of personal experience than to “raise awareness”. And I doubt very strongly the author was looking for feedback on how to live, and rather wanted to open the blinders into her world for others to see through her eyes–even if it’s something we are all very familiar with. It’s an expression, not a call to arms or plea for help. Woman have been handling this for years, and we are making progress. We are talking about a female doctor with a lot of female doctor colleagues, which would… Read more »
Why would you cringe at being called feminist, a belief in equality, which is exactly what you’re saying you want?!!!
I was raised to be ‘tough.’ To believe that men and women were equals. That feminists were women who just couldn’t control their emotions. These were all beliefs that were, for the most part, re-affirmed and then solidified during my early medical training. It took a lot of time, sexist injustices, and personal reflection to fully understand and embrace the label. I hope that this helps to clarify where I was coming from when I wrote this.
I appreciate your insight. Thank you for sharing your experiences. As a female in the healthcare setting, unfortunately, I have witnessed female nurses treat female providers differently. Your strength and character are sure to win those you encounter over to the right side of this issue. You are appreciated. Thank you for all you do. We should put forth continued effort to uplift each other.