February 17, 2023
By Sayeh Ebrahimian, Drexel University College of Medicine

It seems that almost every woman in every medical field has an anecdote about being mistaken For another member of the health care team, or about having their medical decision-making undermined by either a patient or a colleague. As a medical student with only a little over a year of clinical experience under my belt, I too have these stories.

I am reminded of the 80-year-old male patient on my internal medicine rotation with recurrent UTIs who refused to answer my pre-rounding questions, instead demanding that I change his dressings and address issues with his foley catheter. “A nurse doesn’t need to ask so many questions, just do your job,” the patient demanded.

I am also reminded of the 5-year-old girl on my pediatrics rotation who was brought in for her annual exam by her father, who asked me why multiple nurses needed to ask him so many questions, referring to my asking standard check-up questions before presenting to an attending.

I am reminded of the chief resident on my surgery rotation who said women are not cut out for certain surgical subspecialties and if I am that “cheery” at 6 a.m., then I should go into pediatrics. I am reminded of the surgical trauma attending who scolded me during rounds for not knowing the answer to an obscure medical question, which everyone else disregarded, telling me not to take it personally because he “just doesn’t like women.”

These stories are all too common. Yet, what if they were replaced with other types of stories — ones that are more positive, supportive and kind?

Stories like the 60-year-old woman on my internal medicine rotation who greeted me as the doctor while I pre-rounded. After correcting her to state that I am only a student, she excitedly said, “But you’ll be a doctor soon, won’t you?” Stories like the 7-year-old who insisted on playing with my stethoscope because she wanted to practice being a doctor just like me.

Stories like the 45-year-old, anxiety-ridden man who suddenly found himself in the hospital with kidney failure due to an unknown cause, whom I rounded on every day of his four-week hospital stay. We had talked about his family, friends and the emotional roller coaster of a hospital stay without any real answers for his condition. On the day of his discharge, he thanked me and said he will remember our conversations fondly.

In an ideal world, our work in medicine would have more of these positive moments and would more closely resemble the ideal all medical students picture before starting our clinical years. Instead, we are more often than not left dealing with negativity. I often feel that my role on clinical rotations is not just to learn, but to represent all women in medicine, to prove to patients and superiors that not only am I worthy of my current position, but that as a whole, we are also worthy. The latter stories of kindness are the saving grace moments that propel me forward on my journey to positions of power where I will do my best to relieve future students and all women in medicine of this burden.