To think that a hospital should have a female gynecologist?

[crazyspaniel]

My local hospital only has male gynecologists. If I want to see a female practitioner I have to travel 40 miles. In the end I went to my local hospital and found the whole experience somewhat traumatic - the fact that the doctors were male was part of the reason for finding it so horrible and humiliating.

Is it really so hard to hire a female gynecologist? I get that consultants are often of a generation when not many women went into medicine (and particularly surgery), but there are now more women than men becoming doctors and one of the doctors in the room was SHO level (or whatever they call them now), so not of that generation. I really think this is one area of medicine where there should be female quotas and where each hospital should have at least one female practitioner.

Not at all, as I said please read carefully, before you cut and paste.
"In the case of sexual assault, abuse I would like to think that victim would have choice to be appointed female doctor"
Agreeing with Andrewofgg to extent of female doctor not being available for the crucial examination, where time is of the essence.

Sorry to hear about the way you feel OP but YABU to think that staff should be appointed by gender and 40 miles is nothing to travel to a hospital.
Hope you get some support with this issue, have you discussed it with your GP?

I did read carefully. I pasted something andrew had written and said that I thought it was callous.

Do you understand that some/many women who have just been sexually assaulted by a man will withdraw their complaint rather than be examined by man? Time is of the essence? You talk as if the women who has been assaulted is no more than a piece of evidence to be collected. The woman tells them to fuck off and goes home, the time is of the essence thing has kind of backfired, don't you think?

I would be dubious of anyone who would not think that female examiners for female victims of sexual assault should be a priority.

Do you know what
What if I told you all that it is WIERD to want to be examined by a male doctor?
How would you feel if your feelings and emotions were dismissed like that?

It is not a problem to not want to be examined by males.
It is not a phobia
It is normal
It can be accomodated
The problem seems to be with people telling us to 'get over it'

You are the wierd ones for wanting to be examined by males

I doubt very much it is a case of people "wanting" to be examined by males .

Now you are quoting andrew with something that he has never said, and saying you agree with it. You might want to watch those quotes yourself.

This is the exchange I am referring to:

Andrewofgg Sun 04-Sep-11 18:32:51
strictlovingmum Even in the case of assault it depends who is available at the crucial moment. If the woman who might have done it is off duty or on holiday and the stand-in is male, well, the world won't stand still and wait.
Add message | Report | Message poster strictlovingmum Sun 04-Sep-11 18:35:04
I agree Andrewofgg.

When it's to the point where you endanger your health (by not having smear tests) and it is having major impact on your life (you won't have children for fear of examination), it's a phobia.

Personally, I don't care whom I'm examined by, gender-wise, so long as they are competent. It's unpleasant no matter what.

The OP does. So she must travel 40 miles to see a female GYN specialist.

Some on here have expressed the male preference

If the person has been a victim of sexual assault you would expect that they would be treated with sensitivity and they may well have to travel to see one.
I dare say there are jobs in th army that are not open to women-quite probably they can't physically do it. It seems a bit silly to me to ban men from certain parts of the female body-they are a professional.

YABU. You had a choice to travel, you chose not to so you saw a male gyno.

Hospitals cannot choose their doctors by their sex just as they cannot choose by gender, age, race or religion.

I'm not too fond of any gyno to be honest but if their male and qualified I have no preference.

It makes no sense that women are banned from some parts of the army exotic and your assumption that "quite probably they can't physically do it" is untested as at the moment women are not allowed to try.

exotic no-one is asking for a ban on male medics doing this stuff

People variously on the thread have said that women ought not to be allowed to express a preference, that it is potentially illegal to express a preference, that women who have been assaulted should not be guaranteed a female, that sort of thing. I think those approaches are callous and un-empathetic.

I mean, it has even been said that if the result is women dying that's the price you have to pay for equality

You are being absolutely ridiculous SardineQueen, and you taking things out of context completely.
I was quoting myself for you to read again, not Andrewofgg.

sardine once again an eloquent post.

Why are people so het up about the use of proper and legitimate preferences.
It has nothing to do with the professional involved it all about the peronal.

I don't get how callous some posters are on here about this.

I don't see how women can have a preference-there may not be a female one -they may be on holiday-they may be called into theatre and delegate. The NHS is pushed enough without people getting picky about who they see. There isn't a choice when you are referred to a hospital.

SardineQueen Every effort is made to get a female medic in rape and sexual assault cases and I have no problem with that.

But if, as will in the nature of things happen, there is not one to be had - what sort of magic wand do you want the police force to wave? If the female FMEs are variously on leave, off duty and unreachable (and if they are off duty they have every right to be unreachable), ill themselves, or attending to other work - it may be male or nothing.

So rape complainants cannot be guaranteed a female FME.

That is all I meant and it is no more than common sense.

When you are on that table, being examined,(not for the sexual assault) but the possible stage three to four cervical cancer, last thing on you your mind, is the person between you legs male or female, but rather is that person competent enough to correctly diagnose me and save my life.

It was your comment

" Even in the case of assault it depends who is available at the crucial moment. If the woman who might have done it is off duty or on holiday and the stand-in is male, well, the world won't stand still and wait."

Which sounded so callous.

How big of you not to have a problem with making efforts to get female medics in rape and sexual assault cases.

It would be preferable in an ideal world to have a choice.

However this isn't an ideal world and if you need to see someone then I don't care what sex they are, as long as they're qualified and bloody good at what they do.

strictlovingmum I took issue with a post of andrew's, a post that you agreed with.

I do not see what you posting other things that you have said has to do with that?

exotic you are deliberately missing the point aren't you.
everyone has preferences in anything in daily life. Tea or coffee. Corronation st. or Eastenders. Natural fibres or manmade. You name it you have them
Why can't a woman express her preference and expect to have it met in a most itimate area of her life?

It was not intended to sound callous. I meant only that the evidence-gathering process in such cases will not wait for scientific reasons. It is the natural physical world which is callous, not me.

You have had a go at me, feel free, but you have had not said why I am wrong.

And bully for everyone who doesn't mind this isn't about you