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👍

That's interesting, my husband is a doctor and did a tonne of manual evacuations while working on one of his rotations, and he absolutely loved doing it! He said it was really satisfying to be able to provide such immense and immediate relief to people. The scooping poo from a bum side didn't bother him, he just enjoyed it thoroughly.

I think everyone can accept that in a real emergency beggars can't always be choosers. No-one expects perfection.

BUT, if women have a right to ask for a female practitioner then that right needs to be backed up by some proper planning to ensure sufficient female staff on duty. Obviously one day you might have two female doctors off sick and it really is a choice of male or cancel the test, but with planning, if the rights of women are to be taken seriously, they should almost always be able to get the service with a woman doctor if they want. More so if women are encouraged into relevant fields and men less encouraged.

If there’s not a female doctor available (especially in an emergency) then women can’t see one, can they?

But the only solution I can think of to that would be for only women to be able to train in Obs and Gynae, which I personally don’t think is a good idea.

I had a male doctor sexually assault me, in a busy ward during visiting hours, on a gynaecology ward . I’ve seen gynae roughly every six months since age 16, now early 30s, won’t go near a male doctor for anything down there since that man a few years ago . Even having a gynaecology op a few years ago they made sure it was an entirely female staff that looked after me - in theatre and on the ward . So it can’t be that uncommon for people to have these experiences and concerns .

I would like to say that while I have no problems with male ob/gyn myself, I can understand that many women do, and that they will all have their own reasons and they are all valid.

I do think it's unfair, though, to assume that any man choosing this field of medicine is necessarily an abuser.

Although 98% of sexual assaults are carried out by men, that doesn't mean that 98% of men commit sexual assault.

As a PP has pointed out, there will always be some who are there for opportunistic reasons, but the vast majority are just doing their job and are professional about it. When I've had a male gynaecologist there has always been a female chaperone with him - for both of our protection.

I admit I wouldn't be comfortable without this "extra layer" of protection, and I imagine most doctors wouldn't either.

I was sexually abused as a child and never even thought about anything like that. When I had my son it was a male doctor and my midwife who stopped me hemorrhaging and saved my life because of a placental abruption. I was just grateful the bleeding was got under control.

Ten years ago I had a letter to say my last smear had been cin3 (pre cancerous cells.) I didn't care if they were Male or female. I just wanted to avoid the pre cancerous cells leading to cancer.

I had a colposcopy they took a biopsy and told me it would be a 6 week wait for the results. I eventually received a letter after 10 weeks to say I had the all clear and they had removed all the more cancerous cells. I then had to have a smear every 3, months for a year to check I was still clear.

Please don't miss going for your 3 yearly smears. I wouldn't be here today if I hadn't gone for mine.

I'm so sorry @ilytmab - I posted without seeing your post. This is a dreadful thing to have happened and I can absolutely understand you not wanting any men around you in such an intimate and vulnerable situation.

Perhaps I have been very fortunate in my medical treatment.

There is no 'defense' needed. Do you really believe the majority of males who specialise in gynaecology, spent years and thousands of pounds in training, just so they could get their sexual kicks looking at women's vaginas? I'm very sorry you've been through whatever you've been through at the hands of men, but you're being ridiculous.

More so if women are encouraged into relevant fields and men less encouraged.

But what makes Gyn/Obs more relevant for a female??
Having a vag doesn’t give me the right to speak on behalf of everyone who also has a vag.
I don’t have any more personal understanding of a hysterectomy because I am a woman, a laparoscopy procedure is no more relevant to me as a woman because other women suffer from endometriosis.

Why on earth would we discourage perfectly competent men from perusing a career as an obstetrician? It’s already such a low first choice option.

Should men stay away from treating children or being teachers too, is that more ‘relevant’ to women?

The only male gynaecologist I ever had, made several very creepy comments to me about my sex life and my tightness. I have absolutely no illusions about why he got into that area of medicine.

All gynaecologists have also trained as obstetricians, though many eventually specialise in either one or the other.

O&G is a fascinating speciality, with a broad range of medical (i.e. non-surgical) and surgical issues. There are not many areas of medicine where you could find yourself managing complex hormonal problems and also performing surgery.

Are there some predators amongst male gynaecologists? For sure - as sadly, we know that predators are attracted to all professions that give them access to vulnerable patients. But most doctors don't choose a speciality because they particularly like a body part. Urologists aren't all penis-obsessed, proctologists aren't really into arseholes. You choose a speciality because you are interested in the medical conditions it involves.

Tone is hard to get across on here so I’m not saying this unkindly and I realise that you wrote your post in response to the OP, but I have a genuine question. While looking at ‘lady parts’ might be the last thing on their mind (most of the time - we’ve all seen the harrowing stories of women being assaulted under the guise of medical care), it is a horror for some women to be examined internally by a male doctor. For multiple reasons, including past trauma. Do doctors commonly understand this? It doesn’t really seem to me like there is much understanding of trauma-informed care in the medical community. I’ve been lucky on some occasions, but otherwise have come up against a wall of ‘we’ve seen it all before’ and ‘don’t worry, he’s very nice’. Do doctors understand that gynaecological procedures and childbirth can have a long-lasting psychological impact and do conversations happen about the importance of patients being able to see a practitioner of their choice wherever possible for their psychological well-being?

@BadNomad The private hospital in a place I once lived had a 55% c-section rate. Women were basically told - "at this point we go to caesarian" and that was more or less that.

The doctor in charge was also head of the AMA (in Australia) and he would always say, when questioned about such high rates that women were older and fatter.

And yes, he was very into his local sports.

I'm so sorry @ilytmab Sadly there is a tiny number of monsters out there who abuse their position and cause us to need to have these conversations :-(

For anyone who wants female clinicians any hospital would absolutely accomodate this where possible. If it absolutely has to be a male (eg it's overnight and only one doc on call) then you can ask for a female chaperone tp be present during any procedure/examination and this should be accomodated no questions.

@Emotionalsupportviper yes, its hard to truly appreciate just how extraordinarily painful constipation can be. I speak as someone who was on IV morphine for ten days to manage the agony last year (whilst knocking back Laxido to no effect). I was so grateful when, after surgery, two weeks later, I could finally go. I came out of hospital a stone lighter and with a new appreciation for working bowels

IN the USA OB/GYN is regarded as a relatively low paying speciality, especially if you are in general practice rather than a sub-speciality such as gyn/onc. 80% of US OB-GYN residents are women, and analysts do link poor pay and prestige to the feminization of the specialty (also an issue in paediatrics). The malpractice insurance for obstetrics is eye-watering; some doctors only practice gynaecology because of that.

I know quite a few OB/GYNs and it's a fascinating area that offers a big variety of practice. I can't say that no man ever went in for the wrong reasons, including the power dynamic, but I certainly wouldn't automatically assume that.

I had a female Gas Engineer come round to fix my hot water this morning - I was definitely thinking who allowed her out of the kitchen, rather than hoping she'd be able to sort the issue 🙄

@ilytmab so sorry that happened to you 💐

The malpractice insurance for obstetrics is eye-watering;

That would explain the very high caesarian section rates in the US, I would think.

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

What a truly, truly stupid comment.

This isn't about sexual orientation - it's about power and misogyny. Some men like having power over women, seeing them in pain, getting them alone in rooms and abusing them. Some of those men are doctors. Does anyone recall the gymnastics doctor? Constant abuse.

Isn't it 98% of sex crimes committed by men?

So no, it matters not at all to me if my female doctor is a lesbian. It's about the very real risk of abuse, which is largely committed by one sex - men.

And yes, yes, I know #notallmen - but enough of them for me to stick with female HCPs whenever I have a say in it.

For multiple reasons, including past trauma. Do doctors commonly understand this? It doesn’t really seem to me like there is much understanding of trauma-informed care in the medical community.

Yes, this

I take on board what you're saying fully. I'm not disputing this and nor would I ever even question any woman (or man for that matter) who wants a say over who examines them intimately. My point was simply a reassurance that most men aren't doing this specialism because they're a creep they're doing it because they have a genuine and wholesome interest. Hospitals do what they can to be respectful and understanding of how intimidating it can be being a patient. However, in the chaos of a typical day in an NHS hospital I'm sure this isn't always communicated effectively sadly

I think my situation was - I hope - extreme. I worked with him on another ward before I was his patient and he was a creep even then I think . He did something that could have been seen by a witness as being completely normal but it very definitely wasn’t - I remember realising what was actually happening and freezing . It would have been very difficult for a chaperone to see what was actually happening and I’ve been told since that there was probably a certain amount of ‘talking me into making me think was my fault’ . I’ve had a hell of a lot of therapy from the NHS and still am now, they’re completely accepting that it happened as I remember - although I can’t go to the police .

I do think it’s at the extreme end, I hope .

some of the answers here are so po faced! It is not analogous to other areas like paeds, ortho etc, this is one very specific area that only women have and most men would have only encountered them through sexual experience (unless - no I can’t think of another scenario!) so I think it’s totally a fair question. I often wonder why - I would never have a male do my smear, only feel comfortable with women.

@ScotchPine Without stereotyping men perhaps tend to cope with the stress of this on the whole a little better than women.

That is stereotyping.

If you're a doctor, you're a very patronising one.