4 lessons every woman doctor must learn

Recently, I wanted to find some inspirational articles for female doctors. This letter to the young female physician by Dr. Suzanne Koven was one of the first things I came across. I wish someone had written me a letter when I was young and dumb and entering internship. Maybe it would have been a good warning. I mean, I was clueless about what lay ahead. I might have had an inkling about the ambivalence I would feel about what now is known as “work-life balance,” though I called it “lifestyle” back in the day, and it was less about children and more about sleeping in and staying out. But I had no idea about the sexism I would eventually encounter or the double standards that would become the bane of my existence. Dr. Koven touches upon impostor syndrome — an integral part of my daily routine, seeing as how I shake in my clogs every time the phone rings because I just KNOW someone finally figured out that I have no idea what the heck I’m doing. (Psst: I actually know what I’m doing.) She discusses ways we seek validation and the secondary measures we use to gauge our success and worth, like knowledge of minutia or speed with which you can perform a menial procedure. These are nothing but secondary measures, and yet they seem to weigh so much. She urges the young female doctor to realize that she is “a flawed and unique human being, with excellent training and an admirable sense of purpose.” And that “[her] training and sense of purpo...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Hospital-Based Medicine Primary Care Source Type: blogs