Smear appointment reminder with a Mx

[catin8oots]

Have a routine smear booked at my local surgery and just received a reminder text saying it will be with Mx Firstname Surname.

I have no idea if this person is a biological woman or a biological man.

Can I call and ask?

Good question. Just responding to PP who seems to think medical professionals should be kept in cages without phones.

The problem is OP wants a women to do the procedure and she won’t know this with a person who declares as non binary without wasting her time and seeing for herself by going to the appointment.

We do have a choice on who carries out intimate care.

All this BS is saddening. How anyone can peddle this nonsense that gender recognition demands don't impact women is beyond me.

Mammographers have to be female. I understand there are rules vis a vis the equality act to ensure the role is only available to females. Going forward though, are we going to have men who've decided they're female manhandling (literally) our boobs during a mammogram, and we have no say??? The thought makes me shudder. I just wouldn't go for smears or mammograms if it was a man conducting them, the experience is stressful enough without that worry! It's a significant public health concern.

I don't think this.

I do think it's unprofessional to berate others on social media about their feelings over intimate procedures whilst saying as part of this discussion they themselves are doctors.

It's using authority over others to try and force them to not say anything. It's about the power dynamics. It's not cool.

By all means be on the internet and have an opinion, but the second you start throwing out your job alongside that, have consideration for how that can have an impact and can undermine trust and confidence.

HTH.

When posters are doing the ridiculous insinuation of "must only be in the profession as they get off on it" on the thread, it was presumably a comparison to show you how ridiculous it sounds - you can only see the offensiveness/bigotry when it's pointed at lesbians though which is telling if you can't see both.

Absolutely
I had twins via c section and the place was crowded with men. Two male doctors one nurse looking after me then two peadeatricians for each baby only one of which was a women plus the male doctor doing the spinal. I’m very reserved ( I don’t even show my upper arms 🤯 ) but apart from showing a few nacked bits it’s not like I’m spreading my legs

the procedure for a smear is completely different

👏👏
Plus the ability to speak out which OP was clearly conflicted about when she shouldn’t ever be put in this sort of dilemma

What do you mean what does it matter?

It would matter to anyone who wants a female nurse when the non-binary nurse could just as easily be male.

I have a question for everyone because I would be really upset if I was put in the following situation.
I can see myself walking out crying and never going back

Imagine you’re in the waiting room for a smear test and a trans women walks in and calls your name out. What would you all do MNs.

Ok you keep talking about berating, silencing, forcing and whatnot. Again, nobody has the energy for that mate. It's like you WANT someone to silence and oppress you, which is why you keep insisting that's what's happening 😂

When we receive a patient complaint we just apologise, apologise, apologise. Sometimes my colleagues laugh at our idiocy in incurring that complaint, OR at the abstract irony of the whole situation. It's not about you. No one is laughing at you.

Do I think female patient safety and trust is paramount? Yes. Do I think doctors' genders should be spelt out clearly to patients when the procedure involves reproductive health? Yes.

Would I think it's funny that my idiot/naive (take your pick) colleague accidentally started a political maelstrom and now has to deal with the aftermath? Yes.

On top of all the (perfectly valid) 100000 other patient complaints (re demographics no less important than women – elderly, children, etc) we're already flooded with? Yes. I would indeed find the situation darkly hilarious.

(Is this clueless colleague scenario a completely hypothetical situation I mentioned out of boredom? YES. Are you getting vvv outraged over an imaginary scenario, albeit based on real past experiences, I made up? YES.)

The medical profession has a very high suicide rate btw. Most doctors probably have colleagues no longer around. How we cope is humour.

If you get outraged over that (plus the fact that medical professionals have the audacity to go relax on Mumsnet), sorry we don't live up to your 168 hr work week grovelling emotionless caged up robots ideal. HTH!

Firstly, I think women need to know exactly who they are meeting with, regardless of situation. Mx is like saying Dr Lucky Dip.

I have had male ob-gyn, but at least it was my choice.

If they had just said, Dr Keri, Nurse Keri - you still would not know.

can you google the name and see a photo?

I know a few women who go by Mx as they don't want to be judged by their gender.

😆 how many men go by Mx?!

Mx means "non-binary". So...you can safely assume it's a woman. A young insufferable leftwing 'alternative' woman, but a woman nonetheless.

Exactly. All this 'Mx' and 'Ms' bolleaux is just daft. Still obvious it's a woman! Or a transgender woman!

As you say, no MAN goes by bloody Mx. How the fuck do you even pronounce it? How silly! 😆

They don't need to do they! (Though my son does have a male teacher who goes by Mx, but they are non binary with a male first name)

Mix is how it pronounced. Now harder to pronounce than Ms surely?

I would love to make my CV age and gender neutral, and if Mx helped I would use it. It doesn't though.

Why?

Yes, @Zippedeedooda , I know we have a choice. I was trying to say that we don't need to know how a nurse or dr identifies; we need to know their sex. That's what's important.

Would you know the gender of Dr Carrol Becker? Dr S Smith?

Dr is gender neutral, so why can't Mr/Ms etc be gender neutral?

Doesn't that bloke who got the lady's pond made mixed sex transinclusive go by Mx? I forget his name. I always think of him as 'that wanker'.

@Phial, I was trying to say that we don't need to know how a nurse or dr identifies; we need to know their sex. That's what's important.

Whatever. They're both ridiculous.

Ok so getting personal and you can of course ignore this but you have stated yesterday/ day before? You run a business. Think it was a thread about vets bills. So I’m guessing you work in private practice if you run a business.

In which case if it’s medical, which you’ve stated here, do your thoughts align with those of the nhs.

Id really like to know whether private practice / business ( as you state ) adhere to the same methodology