Skip to main content
I wish to comment on the recent article on Sexism in Medical Care by Manzoor and Redelmeier. My own concerns about the commentary have been reinforced by several women residents who approached me in my capacity as an internal medicine site program director. By way of disclosure, I am a colleague and former trainee of Dr. Redelmeier, the senior author, and have shared with him my own views as well as some of the concerns shared with me by others. I also provided him a draft of this letter for his feedback prior to submitting it.
I recognize that the authors wished to draw attention to the issue of sexism in medicine, but the commentary misses the mark in several ways, and overlooks valuable opportunities to promote allyship and advocacy for women in medicine.
First, its whimsical tone makes light of the real day-to-day struggles of women in medicine. These challenges are not easily overcome by a few pithy phrases crafted by a senior male colleague who, by virtue of being a man, has never had to contend with sexism or the toll it can exact. Likewise, as a straight white woman, I have little insight into the difficulties faced by colleagues of different racial backgrounds or orientations.
Second, the piece involves a woman medical trainee being mistaken for a nurse. This situation is hardly a rarity, and women physicians do not need to be told how to manage it. For most of us, an appropriate response is something along the lines of, “Actually I’m your doctor--Dr. X--but what can I do to help you”? Helping a patient with requests typically directed to nurses is not “beneath” any physician, man or woman. In a way, such requests are complimentary, because nurses belong to an exceptionally caring and compassionate profession. Most patients who mistake physicians for nurses are apologetic once roles have been clarified.
Third, the commentary says nothing of the damaging casual sexism women physicians continue to experience in the workplace, even in 2020. Better examples to have highlighted might include men “talking over” women colleagues in meetings, being addressed by our first names while men are addressed as “Doctor”, and the exclusion of women from leadership roles. The list goes on. In fact, the article itself has been interpreted by some as “mansplaining”, unintentionally reinforcing the very phenomenon it was meant to address.
I appreciate that the authors invited pre-submission feedback on their article from multiple women in medicine, and accept that some may not share my view. It is clear, however, that many do. Women in medicine have had to confront sexism for as long as there have been women in medicine. Thoughtful solutions and allyship in dealing with the above sorts of micro- and macro-aggressions would be both more helpful and more widely appreciated.