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junior doctors ...

86 replies

eldritch · 18/03/2011 08:44

My first post in this area so please be gentle! Grin

Last night I was watching a fly on the wall documentary about a group of junior doctors starting out on their first jobs. One of them is female, 24, blonde, attractive, likes to wear pink shoes, has a pink stethoscope etc. On her first day on the ward someone changes her name on the spreadsheet to "Barbie" and colours it pink. The next day she finds someone has drawn on her staff photo on a noticeboard, giving her a crown, silly hairstyle etc. She is clearly gutted but tries to laugh it off. The prevailing attitude from the other doctors (mostly male, but some female) is that she should just suck it up. She does.

I was Angry and Sad that she was treated like this as she was clearly good at her job and had worked really hard to get this far. In my workplace (public sector, but not hospital) this kind of thing would be seen as sexist bullying and taken very seriously, but it seemed to be pretty normal there. For me the most disturbing thing was that her supervisor seemed to be the ringleader in all this.

I wondered if they might have edited it a bit to make it look more dramatic than it was (the whole episode was about identity), but the reactions did seem pretty real to me.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this as it's still preoccupying me this morning! Is this just banter, and do women have to put up with this in some professions? I really thought this kind of macho doctor culture had died out but clearly not ...

OP posts:
AyeRobot · 18/03/2011 10:55

I wrote about this on the Feminism Chat thread and feel the same as you, OP.

I can't believe that people on this thread are trying to say that it's part of the job. How defeatist! The problem does not lie with her, it lies with those who who perpetuate sexism, whether by deed or acquiescence.

karmakameleon · 18/03/2011 10:41

I know that it won't work like this in the medical profession, but surely if patients are rude or abusive, they should be told in a polite but firm way that they are behaving unacceptably and if they do not stop they will asked to leave.

If other staff members are behaving in a bullying or abusive way, first you explain to them why it's unacceptable, next you give them a written warning and if it still doesn't stop you sack them.

I work in a male dominated and sexist environment btw (Finance) so I don't think I'm being naive here. I've worked for employers that don't act (and the working atmosphere was horrific) and ones that do, and I know where I'd rather be. Now that I have my own team, I just wouldn't accept this type of behaviour and think other people are mad if they do.

Incidentally, I wish that she felt that she could sue and understood that she has a very good case given that it's all on film. It just goes to show how little people on the receiving end feel that they can do about these things and how willing people in authority are willing to let these things go.

3littlefrogs · 18/03/2011 10:19

Families can be rude and abusive to nurses and doctors, seniors and juniors alike. She will come across plenty of that - it is par for the course.

Deliainthemaking · 18/03/2011 10:18

Is she ther one who looked about 16? I saw a bit wherwe the family wasn't very polite to her regarding a decision, bless her felt for her

Restrainedrabbit · 18/03/2011 10:17

Errr woman up??!!!

MrsDrOwenHunt · 18/03/2011 10:15

really? she needed to woman up a bit to be fair!!

3littlefrogs · 18/03/2011 10:13

I did feel sorry for her. I have worked in the NHS for over 30 years, and it is still a bit of a macho culture, though nowhere near as bad as it used to be.

However...if I were the junior doctor in question, I wouldn't dress in lots of pink and I certainly wouldn't purchase a pink stethoscope. I know it is her right to wear and use what she wants - but I do think the pink stethoscope is a bit OTT.

MummyBerryJuice · 18/03/2011 10:08

It is sexist bullying and unacceptable, sadly it is not at all unusual in the medical profession (which although women are well represented, particularly in the lower rungs of the ladder) has a deeply misogynistic culture. As a woman, particularly if you are attractive you are expected to put up with a whole bunch of discrimination and often with sexual harassment too and just 'laugh it off' or 'take it like a man'.

It is one of the things I really do not miss about that life

Restrainedrabbit · 18/03/2011 09:08

I saw the episode in question and thought it was sexist bullying, she was clearly struggling to be taken seriously and quite rightly she said that she shouldn't be judged on what she wears or looks like. I was horrified at the response of her colleagues particularly her (male) supervisor. She, to me, looked genuinely upset.

karmakameleon · 18/03/2011 09:04

I think whether it's sexist or not is neither here nor there. It sounds like it's bullying and if you can tell that she doesn't like it as a TV viewer, those that work there, know her and also saw what happened should be able to pick up on it too.

I run a team of 20 odd people and if any of them were acting like this I'd be horrified. From the management courses I've been on, I understand that I'm obliged to act in law. Really there is no excuse for this sort of thing.

AmandaCooper · 18/03/2011 08:55

I guess you have to look at what the culture is like generally, it's not necessarily sexism to say blonde + pink=barbie. Perhaps a male doctor could have a similar style/nickname experience.

Her colleagues' advice to suck it up is probably practical. I think the supervisor should put a stop to it though, it easily could be sexism or spill over into sexism.

What do other people think?

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