Gynecologist question.

Eoin

Dudess wrote: »

And I do wonder why men would choose it as a career - the abuse they must get (mostly good natured, but still) must be endless...

There are lots of other areas of medicine that I can't understand why someone would want to choose. Proctologist and Chiropodist being two of them.

hunnybunny wrote: »

Its a modesty thing. I just would prefer a woman. I would be embaressed with a man. Black/Phillipino whatever race doesn t matter to me

I think that's fair enough, because you seem to realise that you are the one with issues, not that the doctor may not act appropriately.

juvenal

tallaght01 wrote: »

I think it's fair enough if a woman wants to see a female doc. It's her choice, and we have to respect people's wishes. Being in hospital can make you feel pretty vulnerable, and it's important to maximise comfort. You can ask to see a female doc. But there might not be one available. You're better off phoning in advance if that's the case. Most clinics will be able to slot you into a clinic with female if you give them some notice.

There comes a point where you just have to get on with it, though. I work in the hospital environment, and I remember a few years ago seeing a woman literally almost die because she refused to let a male examine her. She was pregnant, and her consultant obstetrician (male) thought she had a very serious condition that would threaten mum and baby's life.

So he needed to do an internal examination. She refused. All 3 docs in the room were male. It was a sunday, so they were the only obs/gynae docs in the hospital.

Eventually, she bled out half her blood volume and just had to be put asleep to get emergency surgery there and then. Baby was lucky to make it out alive, as was mum. In these cases, you've really got to just suck it up.

But please bear in mind just how many vaginas a gynae/obs doctor sees. I go to a lot of the deliveries that they do, and I don't think I even register the presence of a vagina in the room anymore, and I'd see maybe 2% of the amount that they do! They really don't even think twice about seeing your "bits".

Within the work environment, and when I socilaise with them, it's bigtime taboo to make jokes about patients. They (quite rightly) are very private about their work.

It won't be as much of an issue in the future, though,a s there's a real problem getting males into the specialty nowadays. They just don't want to do it. Most of the junior gynae/obs doctors are female.

We will, however, always need male gynae/obs doctors. If you have ever worked in a ward full of midwives, you'll know a strong male hand is the only hope of keeping things sane in that environment :P

I agree that someone's issues should try and be accomodated, but as you probably know better than all of us in a high pressure medical situation such trivial concerns are not always top of the list.

Regarding this woman you spoke about - seriously WTF!? What a fooking idiot. . . I wouldn't have been surprised if you told me she then sued the hospital in question for going against her wishes and receiving life-saving treatment from a male doctor :rolleyes:

eoin_s wrote:

hunnybunny wrote:

Its a modesty thing. I just would prefer a woman. I would be embaressed with a man. Black/Phillipino whatever race doesn t matter to me

I think that's fair enough, because you seem to realise that you are the one with issues, not that the doctor may not act appropriately.

Despite my position, I would agree that it's fair enough that someone doesn't feel comfortable, and it's a big difference than saying that "well if it's a male gynecologist then he must be a pervert". I still think medical issues should be prioritised over someone's sense of modesty or whatever it is.