Patients believe that two "X"s are better than one ...and more

When I first started my practice, I had two African-American physicians as my partners. There were times when a few of my patients stated that they were uncomfortable with my partners because of their race. In every case, I would tell the patient that they were my partners and, if she wanted me as her physician, she would have to accept my choice of partners as well. Not one patient left my practice over this.

If female physicians took the same ethical stand and placed it above their own perceived financial interests, the problem of male medical students not choosing obstetrics and gynecology would largely be solved. Let the male students know that there are welcoming practices waiting for them, and I believe you will see a turnaround of the recent gender trends.

Acceptance and approval of covert acts of gender discrimination jeopardize our moral imperative as a society to eliminate all discrimination. If we simply substitute women for men as the exclusive or overwhelming dominant force in medicine, we will, in effect, be doing nothing to address the underlying issue of discrimination that served as a catalyst for the acceptance and inclusion of women in medicine in the first place.

Larry Kincheloe, MD
Oklahoma City, Okla

In the women’s press, male obgyns are the “bad guys”

Although the surveys Dr. Weinstein cites suggest otherwise, I would submit that male-gender bias does play a role in discouraging men from entering the ObGyn specialty. A few years ago, I noticed an insidious trend in women’s magazines that carry articles along the lines of “Ask your gynecologist.” When the writer of the article discussed insensitive physicians, a wrong diagnosis, long waiting room times—essentially, anything negative—the writer would use the pronouns “he,” “him,” and “his” to describe the physician. Conversely, the savior of the encounter was always a “she” or a “her.” As I reviewed the many issues of these magazines in my own office, I was horrified by the regularity of the subtle—and, sometimes, not so subtle—disparagement of the male gynecologist. The message seemed clear to me: Get a female gynecologist from the start, and avoid those insensitive, cold, and mean-spirited male physicians.

In my solo gynecologic practice in Scottsdale, Arizona, my office manager frequently received inquiries as to whether I was a female gynecologist. When advised otherwise, many of these patients asked whether I employed a nurse-practitioner! Apparently, valuation was placed on gender—a female NP trumps a male board-certified MD who has 25 years of experience! And, no, these types of patients did not make appointments after they learned my gender.

My solution? I took a fellowship in cosmetic surgery and opted out of gynecology entirely. Insurance-based gynecology was difficult enough without dealing with gender bias.

William E. Shuell, MD
Scottsdale, Ariz

Dr. Weinstein responds We must speak out about discrimination

I appreciate the comments of Dr. Phillips, Dr. Kincheloe, and Dr. Shuell, who have several concerns in common. First, and most obvious, is the anger that is building among male ObGyns. This anger has the potential to create a self-fulfilling prophecy that could discourage even more male medical students from entering our profession.

The letter writers also share a theme of discrimination against male ObGyns. Discrimination in any form should not and must not be tolerated. Any journal that allows advertisements that are clearly gender-discriminatory for physician opportunities should be inundated with letters from subscribers requesting that such ads be refused.

I completely support the patient’s right to choose a personal physician. However, we cannot continue to allow discrimination against our colleagues. We are living in an historic time, and we must remember that we are the people who are creating the history of our profession. In the past, there clearly was discrimination against females in our profession, and that discrimination has now completely reversed itself.

The philosopher Georg Hegel (1770–1831) said, “We learn from history that we do not learn from history.” I suggest that the time is now for our profession to change that cycle.

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