A follow up to my last post:
A friend pointed out the sexist traits in health care. An example she gave was the tendency of a man’s complaint being taken seriously right off and a woman’s complaint being questioned as to the reality of that complaint before being taken seriously.
I realized that I run into that a lot. If whatever is wrong with me doesn’t show up on a test the doctor ordered, then it must be in my head. And I am treated rather dismissively by male doctors a lot because most of my complaints don’t show up on tests. I am sure that men get this somewhat too but I do think women get this more often.
I looked at it and realized I just accept this behavior and find ways around it. I search for “good” doctors, plan for doctors to not have answers and I do a lot to solve my own medical problems. I don’t see it as sexism, I just see it as something I have to work around. If I did pay attention to the inherent sexism of it, I would probably get so mad at the unfairness of it all that I would no longer be able to find the ways to take care of myself.
This means my sexism blindness is a defense mechanism that allows me to not see the issues and continue to move forward. And I believe this mechanism keeps me from falling for the problems that arise from the sexism. If I don’t see it then I am not affected by it beyond the most obvious cases. I don’t get trained to keep my mouth shut or think I am less because I am a woman. I only have to change my behavior for the stupid people that think I am less because I am a woman and that is their issue, not mine.
I don’t see this as sexism per se, because I am a guy and have run into similar problems. I see this as a fault of either specific doctors or how a medical system maybe set up (pressure to see people quickly, and keep costs down).
I just always go to female doctors, which I guess is also sexist. I find that they are better at taking time with me, explaining things, and most important–listening.
I think that is a combo of sexism as well as how the medical system is run – most docs, regardless if they are male or femal only ahve a limited time frame to diagnose you – and that causes folks to dump your symptoms into whatever category is the most common – I feel women docs are better for women as they just might have a bit more experiance in that department and what an average woman deals with
what I hate is when docs do not LISTEN to you when you explain what has been happening and that you have tried x, y and z.
I am going to have to figure out the GP thing soon out here in CA – I am REALLY going to miss my docs out in Chicago – my GP would schedule a solid hour+ for physicals (the first visit was over 3 as I spent 1.5 with the nurse and another 1.5 with her as they both went over my medical history as well as what was going on in my life)
I have a feeling I am not going to get that out here…I was damn spoiled.
The only doctors/doctor-types I’ve had that spent anywhere near that amount of time on background were an acupuncturist and a psychiatrist. I wish you luck. :}
My friend Monique has had the same problem it took her years to finally find a doctor who took her seriously about her health issues(thyroid)to the point that she was losing hair etc. But once she found a doctor that listened she got it all taken care of. But damn how infuriating…
I find that female care-givers or physicians are a lot more helpful and will listen more seriously and will do more to find the underlying cause of the complaint. That’s why all my care-givers are female. I guess that’s sexist, but I don’t care! ;^)
I’ve absolutely had this problem. But I think I’ve had it pretty much equally with male and female doctors. It sucks. I’ve had so many doctors be dismissive of my concerns that I’m extremely hesitant about finding new doctors. I’ve been putting off finding a new one for a couple of months now even though I have a throat thing that I know REALLY needs looked at. I am so pissed I had to switch health plans when I switched jobs. I had a doctor AND a gyn that I really liked! Can has national health care now please??