There's a pretty good article today on MSN Health. It discusses the role gender plays in your relationship with your doctor.
The article tends to lean towards the belief that women prefer women doctors, especially for certain specialties. But, it also states that men are favored over women in a "surprising" field, gynecology. I'm actually not surprised by this conclusion. Both my primary care physician and my obgyn are male. I did not favor either gender, I chose both my physicians based on recommendations from friends, their experience, and their personalities. Both are easy to talk to, and listen to whatever questions or concerns I have. And that's more important to me than if they are male or female.
I want my doctor to be competent and compassionate; gender doesn't factor into the equation. However, there is one very good reason why men are, in my mind, preferred when it comes to OB/Gyn: finger length. Most women do not have the length to comfortably perform the manual portion of an exam. They mash and push and it's rather painful.
Posted by: Da Goddess at April 8, 2008 10:48 AMI will only see a male gyno, and I try to not see female doctors period. I've only had bad, compassionless experiences with girl doctors.
Posted by: sarahk at April 12, 2008 11:55 PM