DR. MAX PEMBERTON: We need more female doctors in the NHS… but there is a downside

Does the gender of your doctor matter? Overall I’d say it shouldn’t really make a difference, although there are times, for example during intimate examinations, when it might be a consideration.

That said, I was fascinated by the results of a study conducted by UCLA and published in the journal Annals Of Internal Medicine, which showed that the mortality rate among female patients treated by female doctors was lower compared to those treated by male doctors treated.

The researchers who conducted the study were unable to explain their results, although they suggested it may have had to do with male doctors underestimating the severity of a female patient’s illness.

I largely agree: there is no obvious biological explanation for this difference between the sexes, so the answer must be a psychological explanation, based on the unconscious biases of male doctors.

Previous research has certainly shown that male doctors underestimate their female patients’ pain levels, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular symptoms, and stroke risk, so this seems like a reasonable conclusion.

It’s also possible that some women feel more comfortable describing their symptoms to a female doctor, which in turn means they may receive more appropriate care tailored to their needs.

Thank goodness, then, that more and more women are entering the medical profession – and that the days when they were considered ‘unfit’ and lacking the necessary mental and physical stamina for the job are over.

In the past, this mainly applied to women who wanted children.

When I was in medical school, I remember an old female professor of mine telling me that she was one of only three women in her entire year of medical school in the 1950s, when women were often ignored when they raised hands during seminars, and tolerated at best.

The idea that as a woman you could pursue a career in anything other than general medicine or pediatrics was deeply frowned upon.

Those who did make it to become doctors must have been tough as nails to survive in such a hostile, sexist world.

How times have changed! When I was in medical school 25 years ago, mine was the first year there was an equal gender split. Some medical schools now have 80 percent female students, which is an astonishing shift.

Of course, it’s a good thing that more women are entering the medical profession, but shouldn’t we think about what this means for our healthcare landscape in the future?

Currently, just over half of registered doctors are male. As more and more women enter the profession, we may see an increase in the number of doctors working part-time.

Thirty-eight percent of female consultants work part-time, compared to five percent of male consultants. Two-thirds of general practitioners are women, with a large proportion opting for less than full-time work.

To explain this we would have to see a corresponding increase in the number of places in medical school, but that is not the case.

Although the number of medical training places has increased slightly in recent years, this is only to meet the increased need for staff under the current model, and not to enable a larger proportion of the workforce to work part-time in the future .

This problem is not unique to Britain; the US, Canada, across Europe and Japan have seen shifts in the number of women entering the medical profession, have had difficulty scheduling part-time workers and thus have had problems with physician shortages. The problem is already affecting both hospitals and primary care.

Thank God we are past those horrible, sexist days of yore, when female doctors were a minority and left out of the profession – especially when women get better results with female doctors.

But we must accommodate the shift in gender balance – and the increase in part-time work it brings – by attracting more students and doctors, or we face a disaster in the medical workforce.

The number on the transplant waiting list is the highest in a decade, but the number of donor organs has yet to recover after the pandemic. When I worked in a liver unit, I saw so many in desperate need of transplants. I can’t think of anything more beautiful than leaving the gift of life behind when you die.

I’ve seen the truth behind Baby Reindeer

Have you seen Baby Reindeer on Netflix yet? I was hooked.

The drama is an autobiographical story written by Richard Gadd (who plays the lead role, Donny), detailing his experiences of being stalked as a man in his 20s. Starring Jessica Gunning, who gives a compelling performance as stalker Martha, it’s poignant and unexpectedly funny.

Jessica Gunning plays stalker Martha and Richard Gadd plays the lead role Donny in Netflix hit Baby Reindeer

As someone who has worked with a number of stalking victims, as well as people who have been stalkers, I found it to provide a nuanced and astute look at the complex psychology of how this situation can develop, as well as to address the ambiguity and depicted uncertainty. the victim feels. It also provides a well-rounded and heartbreaking insight into how obsession begins through misreading signals.

It is one of the most powerful and accurate portrayals of the utter devastation and long-term effect that stalking can have on a victim that I have seen.

Nearly half of all patients never or rarely see the same GP, according to a poll for the Liberal Democrats, which clearly underlines a serious shift in medicine.

We have moved away from doctors who know their patients and build trust over the years. A visit to your GP increasingly means sitting in front of someone who barely looks up from their keyboard, reciting a list of symptoms and then walking away with a prescription in hand.

This terrible experience flies in the face of the evidence showing the extraordinary value of a good doctor-patient relationship. One thing I appreciate about working as a physician is getting to know my patients, especially in the mental health field. Some of my patients have confided in me things that they have not shared with any other human being. This allows me to help them better.

Dr. Max writes for…

The Psychology of Memory by Dr. Megan Sumeracki and Dr. Althea Need Kaminske

Shortly before I sat down to write this, I lost my keys. For the second time today. Does this happen to you? If so, you don’t have to worry. It doesn’t necessarily mean your memory is bad.

Our brains forget things on purpose so it can store other information, say the scientists who wrote this book, which also suggests ways to remember names and numbers.

The Psychology of Memory by Dr. Megan Sumeracki and Dr. Althea Need Kaminske