What
You Should Know About All-Female OB/GYN Practices?
Many women go to all female OB/GYN
practices because they want to avoid male doctors. But many
women are unaware that there is still a chance that they could
end up with a male doctor for emergencies or the birth of their
child if the practice rotates with other practices that have
at least one male doctor. Also, sometimes all-female OB/GYN
practices hire a male doctor without telling patients. Female
gynecologists in an all-female practice will refer women to
a male gynecologic oncologist sometimes if it is suspected she
might have gynecologic cancer and this takes many women off
guard because they are so worried about having cancer. Check
out Referral
To Gynecologic Oncologist about how you should respond.
Medical Patient Modesty received
a heartbreaking case from a woman in the United States who went
to a wonderful all-female OB/GYN practice of 3 female doctors
for many years that she trusted. She had a yeast infection that
would not go away so she made an appointment with her doctor’s
office. She was informed that her regular doctor was not available
but that another doctor could see her. She said ok because the
other 2 doctors in the practice were females and she assumed
she would see a female doctor. She went in the examining room
and took her panties off and put on a gown in anticipation of
a female doctor coming in. A nurse was present. This lady was
so shocked when a young male doctor came in. He had just joined
the practice a few months earlier. He did everything so quickly
and sexually abused her. The nurse was so shocked. After the
lady left, the nurse reported what happened. The three female
doctors were very upset about what happened and they regretted
hiring that male doctor. The practice consulted with their lawyers
and decided to compensate the lady for what happened rather
than going to trial due to bad publicity they would get. The
practice fired the doctor and reported him to the Board of Medicine.
The practice also offered to pay for any psychological services
the lady needed. No amount of money can take away the sexual
abuse the lady suffered. The lady asked her female doctor why
they hired a male doctor when many women come to the practice
because it was an all-female practice. The female doctor replied
by saying that they wanted to increase their patient base for
women who preferred a male gynecologist.
The above case shows you that an all-female ob/gyn practice
could hire a male doctor without many patients knowing. An all-female
practice that chooses to hire a male doctor should notify all
patients if they hire a male doctor because many women flock
to an all-female ob/gyn practice to avoid the chance of having
a male doctor. This case also proves that a nurse cannot prevent
a male doctor from abusing women. Check out Do
Chaperones Really Protect Patients?
There should always be informed
patient consent for pap smears and other gynecological examinations.
Women should never be forced to have a gynecological examination
even by a female doctor
We encourage all women to take the following
steps:
1) Always
make sure that you will have a female doctor or mid-level provider
before you change into your gown even if your appointment was
made with a female provider. A male doctor could fill in for
a female provider at last minute without your knowledge.
2) If your regular doctor is not available
and you are given opportunity to make an appointment with another
doctor, always confirm that the other doctor is female. Do not
assume because the practice is all-female that a male doctor
will never be hired. Remember that an all-female practice could
become a mixed practice at any time. Practices do not always
update their web sites immediately after hiring a new doctor
so the physician listing could be outdated.
3) Encourage your all-female ob/gyn practice
to remain all-female practice. All-female practices need to
know how important it is to not hire a male doctor. Many women
do not want a male doctor for women’s health issues under
any circumstances.
4) Some female gynecologists allow male medical
students to observe procedures so you need to have it in writing
that you do not give consent to medical students being part
of your appointments.
5) Some female
doctors allow high school students to do shadowing at appointments.
See more information about shadowing on this article: Is
physician shadowing harmful for patients?. Find out if the
practice ever allows students to shadow doctors.
6) Before you commit to an all-female practice
for the birth of your child, ask some questions such as: 1)
Can I be guaranteed a female OB/GYN for the birth of my baby
or emergencies if I select this practice? 2) Does
this practice rotate with other practices that have male doctors?
Make sure you check out the
steps you must take to ensure that you have an all-female team
for the birth of your child.
7) If you have
cancer or possible cancer and your gynecologist refers you to
a gynecologic oncologist, make sure that the referral is to
a female gynecologic oncologist. Do not buy the argument that
a male gynecologic oncologist is exempt since he is very skilled
in helping with gynecologic cancers. A gynecologic oncologist
often performs intimate procedures on women. Check out the article,
Referral to a Gynecologic
Oncologist.
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