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👍

Are there really people on this thread suggesting men go into gynaecology for sexual kicks?!!! FFS.

I’ve recently though this too after going for fertility tests and the doctor was male.

I had a google and one thing that jumped out was that women tend to be easier to deal with and a bit more forthcoming with their symptoms (this was just the opinion of the male gynaecologist who wrote the article btw).

another reason particularly if you’ve specialised on the fertility side is you’d be dealing mostly with life and new life entering the world rather than death which I think to both males and females must be nice

I had a trans vaginal ultrasound recently and was attended to by a male. A female did the actual scan but the man set me up and checked my name etc. He was also the “chaperone” and sat at the opposite side of the curtain while I had my scan. Not sure what purpose that served🤷‍♀️
I initially felt a bit uncomfortable, thinking he may perform the scan but I think that was because I’d never encountered any male in this environment before. I was fully prepared for him to carry out the scan though and wouldn’t have asked for a female. Tbh I actually prefer male doctors/nurses to speak to and don’t have any issues about other examinations from them. I always feel a bit more judged by a female doctor. Not sure why that is.

A male gynae has performed a polypectomy on me - twice - different docs. I don’t see an issue as long as there’s a female chaperone present.
i should imagine they are people interested in reproductive health for whatever reason.

My mother was a medical doctor and her gynecologist (male) was an old friend of my parents, who would socialise and go to dinner parties with him and his wife.

Must admit, I always found it odd, but put it down to her 'medical' non-sqeamish outlook.

It was a female who fucked up sewing up my third degree tear. It was a female midwife who rolled her eyes at me and told me of course I was sore, I had had a baby. It was a MALE midwife wife who realised that this had all been fucked up.

It was a female gynaecologist who fucked up the long term repair leaving me with life changing injuries. But it's an incredibly kind, nice male urogynecologist who is trying to help as much as possible.

There is good and bad in both genders.

I can see how being able to provide such immediate relief to someone who is suffering must be hugely rewarding - especially when it is (as I understand it) a comparatively simple and low risk procedure - but I'm with my old colleague on this one!

No poo, thank you! 😄

I daresay all doctors have an area which particularly interests them, and an area where they think "I've got to do this to qualify, but as soon as I can I'm getting out of this area of medicine."

What about the female nurses who used to be women and still have beards? Do they count towards the female staff ( and as has happened in England NHS , ) yes of course they do and you are prejudiced and a bigot if you don’t much fancy them poking your bits around.
oh, and we are going to ignore your ridiculous request.

I hope you are right that he was a rare case at the extreme end.

Chilling to think how many women he may have molested who weren't au fait with the procedure and may have been completely unaware how inappropriate his actions were, though. Just because they didn't realise he was a dirty bugger, and therefore emotionally unaffected, doesn't make his actions OK.

Well since women CAN'T physically rape men (rape is definded as unconsentually pentraiting someone with your penis) thats probably why... millions of men are sexually assaulted by women every year though its just not taken as seriously socially.

Because most doctors in general are male so there will be more male doctors than female in any field including gynaecology.

Not so much anymore, for newly qualified doctors it’s about half and half. In gynaecology it’s over 80% female for new doctors!

I think the suggestion is more for evil reasons which relate to both sex and power. I think it is incredible to think that none do this.

I think it’s okay for men to qualify as long as-

women always have a choice for a female practitioner when it comes to intimate care and procedures

These men understand and accept that some women will say no to them and it’s not a personal attack

A third of women have experienced some form of sexual assault or trauma. A third! And in almost all cases it was a male. That doesn’t mean they view all men as potential predators but that many will undoubtedly feel uncomfortable or triggered with a male doing their smear/vaginal exam etc etc

I don’t understand how anybody can be aware of the statistics and not see or understand why it’s so important that women are given a choice when it comes to having a male/female caregiver.

I have seen male nurses and doctors rant about women declining their care on social media and it sickens me.

Source for "millions"?

Do you think that on average a man who is sexually assaulted by a woman is as harmed by the experience as when it happens the other way round?

Do you think that on average a man who is sexually assaulted by a woman is as harmed by the experience as when it happens the other way round?

Yes.

I think "bad" HCPs who go into the field to exploit patients sexually or otherwise could be in any field, including psychiatry! Look at the case of that horrible surgeon who performed unnecessary breast surgery on so many women. It's not just going to be gyno that provides the opportunity.

The majority of HCPs surely aren't entering the field for that reason, and might choose to specialise in any of these areas. You might as well ask why a man (or woman) would specialise in proctology.

The important thing is having safeguards to prevent such behaviour as much as possible, for ALL HCPs, and complaints procedures that address any problems swiftly and effectively.

Do you think that on average a man who is sexually assaulted by a woman is as harmed by the experience as when it happens the other way round?

Yes, what a ridiculous comment. A man who is sexually assaulted by a woman is likely to be just as harmed as the other way around. FS we don’t build up women by minimising sexual assault against men.
That sort of thinking throws back to a time when it isn’t ‘real’ rape if it wasn’t a stranger in a dark alley.

I'm guessing they have an interest in the field of gynecology. It is a medical field afterall.
I had an early scan when I was pregnant with DD1 at 7 weeks (due to a MMC a few months earlier). The midwife at the EPU called in the consultant to confirm everything was fine and said consultant was male. It was also a transvaginal scan. Didn't feel awkward or anything. My husband was also present for the appointment. I've never experienced sexual abuse or anything though, so that's why I didn't think anything of it...I still don't think anything of it. He was very professional, but still made me feel comfortable. Even drew a diagram of the scan photo and labelled it to show us the head, limb buds, yolk sac etc.

Unfortunately, all the decent male gynecologists seem to have been tarred with the same brush thanks to the creeps out there who use their position to prey on vulnerable women. I really feel for them (pardon the use of that expression!), particularly those in training who will need enough experience to work in that specific field, but will be faced with barriers of "I'd rather have a female consultant" or "I'd rather not have a young male student observing this appointment".

But no-one thinks this.

And OF COURSE women should be given the choice. That's a given.

But to suggest all men who go into that field do so for sexual kicks is just utterly ridiculous.

Why would anyone specialise in urology?
People specialise in all sorts, thank goodness! Don't know how anyone could be a dentist in fact.

I'm not sure goady questions like this come from a place of man-hating. I think it's reasonable for some women with some life experiences to be wary of men in some situations, such as gynaecology. Women should definitely be able to request a female gynae if they want.

But the weirdness of the blanket suspicion is because it comes from a place of being utterly sex-obsessed. To an alarming amount of posters everything is fundamentally motivated by sex. They can't comprehend professional, academic, financial or vocational motivations. Just sex sex sex sex. Nothing else motivates men at all. Nothing else in their brains. Just sex.

It has occurred to me, but it doesn't specifically bother me. I always just assume it's a scientific / biological interest of them so specialised in this area. I'm more uncomfortable talking to my male GP about women issues than having a male gynaecologist. For example, I recently had to have my breast checked out and I requested a female GP. On the other hand, when I went for a breast ultrasound, it didn't bother me that a male consultant carried ultrasound out as it was his speciality. Does that make any sense?

Coming to think of it now, both my infertility specialists were males and I had countless of vaginal ultrasounds done by male infertility nurses. My husbands andrologist was interestingly a woman! Never even occurred to me until now 😅

When I was pregnant with DS a fair few years ago, I didn’t see one female health professional from before conception (all male GP practice) til I was being stitched up (female Dr did that) Even the poor consultant they dragged out of bed on a very snowy night was male!

I’d never even given this any thought until your post, OP…. But many years ago, we didn’t really question our medical system🤷‍♀️

Got me thinking now… wondering why they do go into Obs & Gynae…

I have asked medic friends this (I’m doing IVF currently) and the answers are:

the specialism of obstetrics and gynae so if you do one, you do both
they do rotations during training and often you might not expect to like something in a particular area but the doing it makes you realise it is interesting (see e.g. Grays Anatomy)
it’s interesting
it has a good mix of medical and surgical (some disciplines are all one or the other)
it is rewarding to help create life/save babies
there are fewer b*stards than other surgical areas