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Women Make Safer Doctors

Fri, 09/25/2009 - 13:46
Submitted by Carlin Ross

This isn't about intelligence.  What the research found was that female doctors were more cautious and took fewer risks.  So it's not that women are "better" doctors rather it's that women are more caring, patient-centered, and take more time doing consultations so they're more thorough.  The bottom line is that they're more likely to find out what's really wrong with you.

This is exactly what Helen Fisher predicted in her book THE FIRST SEX: The Natural Talents of Women and How They are Changing the World.  Her premise is that men have excelled in industry for the last few centuries because of the nature of the workplace.  It was about strength and hunter abilities.  

Today, in the information age, women are at a clear advantage because the nature of the workplace has changed.  The new skill set that gets you to senior management requires advanced language skills, being able read the nuances of human emotion, and being able to express yourself efficiently. 

Fisher explains how women are "web thinkers".  We talk, talk, talk and analyze emotions and it's all thanks to our hormones.  For example, the ability to think of a concept and choose the appropriate term for that concept is greatest when you have your period because your estrogen levels are so high. 

It took the first wave feminists to get us the right to vote, the second wave feminists to get us access to the labor market, and it will take us - the third wave feminists - to get out there and rise to the top.

Sex, Politics & More Sex

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I'm not surprised! Since

Sat, 09/26/2009 - 06:17
Steen (not verified)

I'm not surprised! Since I'm kind of a prude, all of my doctors have always been female. But then, I needed to see an ENT, and I decided it didn't matter about the gender for ear, nose throat, so I went with the closest one, which happened to be male.

Well, I explained my problems to him, and he didn't want to listen, he already decided that I was wrong and he wanted to get rid of me so he could see more patients. And he actually told me, "there's absolutely nothing wrong with you, if you were having that problem, it would be OBVIOUS!" and then shooed me away as quickly as he could! I was totally in shock, I had NEVER had a bad doctor before in my life! So I thought that even though he was gruff, he must have been right; there is actually nothing wrong with me, and I'll just have to live my life like this forever.

Well, my boyfriend listened to my story and told me, "You need to find a woman ENT! A woman would be less intimidating to you because she'd be more willing to listen to your problems and understand how you're suffering." I hadn't thought of that before! So finally I got out of my slump and did just what he said, and guess what! Turns out I did have a (very common) treatable condition, and she was able to successfully treat it and my life has improved infinitely because of it!

I still can't believe that the male would let his arrogance get in the way of actually listening to and understanding my problems.

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