To wonder why men work in gynecology?

[CustardC]

Genuine question, my sisters and I were discussing our most recent smear tests and sister 1 commented on how her nurse was male. I've always asked for a female when I book a smear or any type of gyne issues and it's always been respected, but it got me thinking...if there are any men here who work in that field, why?

I'm fully prepared for the backlash that ill probably get but honest question👍

Daughter is a trainee doctor who intends to specialise in Urology. The majority of patients admitted to urology are male. Work involves cystoscopy, bladder stones removal, circumcisions, resection of bladder cancers. She loves the work - short surgeries with real life, rapid improvement for patients and a lovely team.
The amount of pathetic grief she has received from fellow undergrads is unbelievable. Suggestions that she is voyeuristic. Some patients of course are female.
I think the OP’s question and anyone else’s along this line makes me wonder as to why their minds seek to sexualise medical treatment. I find that v odd and v worrying. Does OP always sexualise medicine? If so, please get help!

We have no choice at our local hospital. The gyne doctors are men. Though I have never seen them alone. They are part of a clinical team who are mainly female. I've never really thought about it TBH.

I think the OP’s question and anyone else’s along this line makes me wonder as to why their minds seek to sexualise medical treatment.

The OP didn’t sexualise it at all. Why don’t you read a few posts above yours and take a fucking minute to consider why some women might ask or worry.

ffs this thread

The male doctors who performed my colposcopies (including two whilst I was pregnant) and LLETZ procedure 5 months post partum could not have been kinder or more gentle.

The female nurse who performed my smear on the other hand, couldn't have given fewer fucks about how much pain it was causing me.

Because they are fascinated with the female vagina and love playing with it. Because why else would a man choose a career in looking up and inside vaginas.

Never crossed my mind before till I read this post. I assume being an obstetrician is a lot more life affirming than say, an oncologist or gerontologist. Men produce babies too you know and many have their own. Could be many reasons. Being a pervert probably accounts for very few.

I do understand the feeling of wanting a female doctor in certain cases but would go with the flow in a situation. But then I haven't been traumatised by a man. (Once had a medical alone in a room with a male doctor who checked my breasts. When I had another medical later in life, I did wonder if he did it for the thrill as it was ,not part of that examination - but can't say it did more than make me feel uncomfortable.)

You don't know anything about other people's experience of sexual assault. I was sexually assaulted by a male doctor when I was 11 or 12. I don't assume every male is out to assault me, I'm perfectly happy to have a male doctor as long he's good at his job and respectful to me. You are wrong to claim that all sexual assault victims will feel like they are being assaulted again if they are examined by a male HCP because I don't and that is a fact.

That's my experience and I'm as entitled to it as anyone else. If you don't want a male HCP then ask for a female but don't do it for me.

^THIS^
I was treated form prostate problems by a female urologist and exclusively female nurses. I can’t say.I worried me. I assume that they are in medicine because they care about people and their health as well as the need to make a living. I had a friend who was a paediatrician, it never occurred to me to attribute base motives to their choice.

Apologies if someone has said this already (or if I’m wrong) but aren’t most/all gynaecologists also obstetricians? I can see why obstetrics would be a popular choice, so maybe it’s mainly led by wanting to go into that.

My local GP surgery often asked if I wanted to see a female doctor (this was before you had to disclose the issue to the receptionist), and the nurses who do the smear tests are all female. I don’t have any issue with male nurses/obstetricians/gynaecologists, but I think women should be able to request a female doctor whenever possible.

I don't assume every male is out to assault me, I'm perfectly happy to have a male doctor as long he's good at his job and respectful to me. You are wrong to claim that all sexual assault victims will feel like they are being assaulted again if they are examined by a male HCP because I don't and that is a fact.

Truly sorry you were abused.

What a fucked up response though. That’s great it’s ok for you. Why the hell wouldn’t you consider for other women that’s not the case? Why didn’t you acknowledge any of this with Shineycrab? You just ignored it. Seems pretty heartless. Obviously I don’t mean every single victim feels the same, how silly of you.

I admittedly irrationally find it awful to have to deal with a male gyno on any issue.

I know it is not entirely fair, but I just do not feel comfortable at all and I definitely question their motives but also the 'code' of trust around it all. Men are not the same about bodily parts as women - cruder or something. Again, I know this is not entirely fair, but still I don't like male gynecologists. Fine if others do, but not for me thanks.

I'm very grateful to my male gyne (onc) who saved my life. Although now he is a well respected consultant at one point in the past he must of been a junior doctor learning his trade. I'm also very grateful to all the women who allowed him to examine them which enabled him to progress in his career. People that have poor skills and are therefore rough/brutal exist across all genders.

I'm pretty sure it's obstetrics AND gynaecology!

I think male and female doctors are drawn to it because it's an interesting specialty that mixes medicine and surgery. I don't believe that the majority of male doctors in this field are obsessed with looking at and touching female genitalia.

I was told, quite brutally in my 30s, months after getting married, by a female gynae that I needed a hysterectomy. My 2nd opinion was a recommended male gynae who said he agreed with the diagnosis but was far more gentle both in his physical examination and in his manner. He was also a brilliant surgeon and saved my ovaries due to my age whereas the female dr said everything would need to go.

@hamstersarse Please don’t think of it as irrational, it isn’t. You also don’t need to be ‘fair’ when it comes to who puts their hands inside your body, it’s entirely reasonable to say no whenever you want for whatever reason you want.

I think that men's thoughts about women medical practitioners is irrelevant to women and their thoughts about male ones.

Probably a money thing, especially in America where everyone seems to have a gynaecologist on call 😂 going off Mindy Project (very reliable I am sure), they seem well paid!

it was a male dr who turned my baby round so he wasn’t sunny side up, gave me my episiotomy and stitches and basically helped me push through the last bits of labour as midwife was having no luck. He did a wonderful job!

not to put the cat amongst the pigeons, but the female you requested may be a lesbian!! 😮😮

What is the point in a right to see a female practitioner if the right can't always be exercised?

Do you think lesbian gynaecologists get off on seeing naked women?

Do you think that straight men gynaecologists are more likely to get off on seeing naked women (or exerting power over them) than lesbians?

I'm a doctor and will try and answer..

Firstly, not every doctor/nurse you see in a gynaecology setting will be specialising in that area. Doctors spend at least 2 years rotating specialisms quite randomly and they may well be in gynaecology having zero interest in it. However they will always be working under more senior doctors who are very much specialists

Gynaecology is a fascinating specialism for lots of reasons. Not to sound corny but the miracle of childbirth is incredible to assist in whether you're man or woman. What greater privledge is there than to help someone do this safely?! Also, it has lots of fascinating subspecialisms that I can imagine are incredibly stimulating to be involved with eg in-utero surgery and infertility treatment. Also obstetrics and gynae is fundamentally a surgical specialism and one in which there is a heavy risk of litigation. I think you have to have nerves of steal to do it tbh. Without stereotyping men perhaps tend to cope with the stress of this on the whole a little better than women. Not to say there aren't plenty of just as capable women out there making incredible surgeons though so please don't take this to mean I'm knocking them!

It's a far more complex specialism than just looking at lady parts all day and for most male doctors that's honestly the last thing on their mind

@YouSirNeighMmmm What is the point in a right to see a female practitioner if the right can't always be exercised?

What is the alternative though? A woman can request female care and everything reasonable will be done to be done but if there is no female obstetrician, which is more likely in an emergency setting what do you actually want to happen? I suppose the woman can entirely refuse any treatment if that is the decision she comes to but the hospital can’t just magic up a fully trained female OB if there isn’t one.

I asked this question to the gynae/obs I had abroad. He grew up in India and his mother died in childbirth with a younger sibling. He noticed that healthcare for women was very poor and he wanted to make a difference in his community.

Hence- he studied and worked in this field.

Sorry, but what has your experience of a male with female practitioners got to do with the experience of women with male practitioners?

Obviously your paediatrician friend likely chose that career for good reasons and not dodgy ones, but I'm really not sure that your failure to even consider that there may have been bad motives says anything whatsoever about what his motives actually were.

Haha!

I'd hate to be a bum doctor. A surgeon I worked with many years ago said that the worst part of her job was performing a "manual evacuation" 😳 on patients who had unresponsive bowels which didn't respond to nature's (or laxative's) promptings (variety of reasons for this). She did say though, that they were the most desperately grateful patients she ever encountered - constipation to that degree is horribly uncomfortable and can cause prolapse.

I was a speech and language therapist and anything below the diaphragm was anathema to me 😄, but especially if it involved bums!

And yes there are those in the medical profession who have abused their power and even killed patients, but I wouldn't assume say that women only become nurses to kill old people and babies

Yes, this came to my mind also. Statistically, you’d not want women working as nurses in NICU/PICU situations or geriatrics if you wanted to keep babies and the elderly safe because of a few bad apples (who mainly happen to be female).

I appreciate some women may prefer a female gynae and that’s okay, but to infer that men only go into it for nefarious purposes or that they shouldn’t be allowed is not okay. Lots of valid reasons they go into it, same reasons for men as women going into it. You don’t need to have the same pieces of equipment to understand medically. I’ve seen god knows how many male genitalia over the years and funnily felt no need to race down the hall to find a male to take over. I don’t want to be limited to female only gynae’s. I want female and male and will take the pick of who is technically best at the time. Why should others put limits on who I can access?

Also, where does this stop, it’s a really slippery slope. Don’t want someone because they are Asian, don’t want someone because they are black, don’t want someone because they are female and female Dr’s are dumber than male Dr’s, believe me, I’ve seen and heard it all.