Lady docs yet to storm super-specialty fields

Money Drives Boys To Engg Schools, Merit Beckons Girls to Medicine

Chennai: Traditionally, the physicians of the Gods have been men. Whether it was Paean, Dhanvantri or Imhotep, the seat of the physician across Greco, Indian and Egyptian mythologies has always been reserved for men. Women hardly donned the role of the healer of the Gods or the court physician. The twentieth century however has a different story to tell.
The march of the XX chromosome into the medical world has never been this strong. Recent data released by the directorate of medical education shows that 65 per cent of the applicants have been women this year. But closer examination would reveal that women have managed to dominate only certain fields of medicine.
A quick search on doctors at a leading chain of hospitals reveals that while women dominate obstetrics and gynecology department, there are hardly any women orthopaedicians or cardio-thoracic and neurosurgeons. The presence of women doctors are few and far between in fields such as plastic surgery and ENT too. The irony is evident. Though number of women donning the white coats has increased, their march into super-specialty fields that require higher marks and have fewer seats has been unsteady.
“In order to become a neuro or cardiac surgeon, you need to do a super specialty. This means a couple of more years in addition to the nine and a half years that you spend in getting a MBBS and MS,” says A Sunitha, a post-graduate student of medicine. “Since women often get married by then and have family commitments, many don’t find a reason in pursuing and wasting money over a course that they won’t get to finish or devote time to.”
Not surprisingly, year after year women opt to do a medical specialty (MD) at the post-graduate level as opposed to men who go on to choose a surgical specialty (MS) and thereafter, a super-specialty. Medics, however, opine that a majority of women opt out of doing an MS because super-specialty surgeons have to be available round the clock for emergencies, a requirement that levies excess pressure on women doctors.
“Another reason why women are probably not opting for superspecialty surgical degrees is that such surgeries can be very strenuous. You need to be very strong to withstand a six to seven hour surgery,” says Dr Uma Ramesh who has a triple Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in ophthalmology. Ramesh also feels that if hospitals introduced a limited or flexi-timing work culture, women would have it easier. Incidentally, ophthalmology is another field that has seen an increase in the number of women doctors.
But for the selected fields in which women dominate, patients such as Chandra Doraiswamy are grateful. “I feel that women make better doctors. They listen and care better and are more forthcoming in sharing their time with patients. Male doctors somehow shut you out,” he says.
The argument is one that is coloured by personal experience. Two members of the same family can have differing opinions of the same doctor, says Dr Abraham Isaac, professor of obstetrics and gynecology. “Just because women are supposed to be ‘natural’ nurturers, it doesn’t mean that they necessarily become good doctors. Not every mother, for instance, is great with her kids, At the end of the day, it boils down to the rapport between a patient and his or her doctor,” he says.
COURSES PREFERRED BY WOMEN
Obstetrics-Gynaecology: Most women think that lady doctors are more understanding. They are also more comfortable when they are being examined by a woman
Dentistry: No sudden emergencies. A doctor is not woken up in the middle of the night to attend to such cases
Ophthalmology, Dermatology, Psychology: Less demanding. Many patients who suffer from ailments falling under this category prefer women doctors
LEAST PREFERRED COURSES ARE THE SURGICAL STREAMS: Cardio-thoracic surgery, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, gastroenteric surgery and urology. This is invariably due to long hours that go into performing complex surgeries which can prove to be strenuous. Most often, super-specialty surgeons are required to be on call at all times. This again interferes with family life of women doctors