One thing common which both doctors and women are made to believe is that their worth lies in the fact that- How much they can endure?
Women have been told for generations to keep giving, keep adjusting, keep caring, and never complain. If women speak up, they are often labelled difficult. If they set boundaries, they are made to feel guilty for choosing themselves.
Doctors are taught something very similar. Stay longer. Work harder. Sleep less. Carry the emotional weight quietly. And if you feel overwhelmed, convince yourself that this is just part of the profession. During the journey of becoming doctors sacrifice has become more of a requirement rather than being a choice.
As doctors we are often admired for our dedication. But the question is we are rarely asked- What was the cost of this dedication?
Each doctor will agree to having witnessed a missed family moment, exhaustion, quiet anxiety the feeling of always being needed, yet not always being cared for. The truth is, doctors are human beings before they are professionals. A system that was built to heal others should not be breaking its forerunners.
A recent trend being observed is that a Doctor’s efficiency is increasingly measured in numbers by-
How many patients did you see?
How much revenue did you generate?
How efficiently did you work?
Somewhere in this process, the doctor stops being seen as a human being and starts being treated like a machine. Healthcare system forgets this risks losing the very compassion on which medicine depends. Burnout is treated as a badge of honor.
In both systems, the caregiver is valued only for how much they can give.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you feel the same?
MBH/AB
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Relatable, In both situations—as a doctor and as a woman—people expect one to work like a smiling and empathetic machine, not as an individual with a heart . I believe colleges should begin teaching and testing how to survive in the market both as a woman and as a doctor.
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it’s time we change the sytem to be kind on human beings.
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Yes…Being a female doctor I have definitely faced these challenges. And the silent expectations from a female doctor to do more and endure more should be recognised. Doing so this doesn’t guarantee that you’ll appreciated and male doctors are still preferred more despite being equally competent and hard working. So I feel time has come to change some things.
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This is very true for both doctors and women. People often have unrealistic expectations toward them, expecting them to work continuously and without any complaints. This glorification of workload, along with the expectation of sacrifice and silence without caring for one’s feelings, is what ruins an individual’s mental health, leading to missing family time, loss of appetite, and declining patience. Female doctors are often targets of this mistreatment, and their hard work is not acknowledged and is underappreciated because of “patriarchy.”
Sometimes exhaustion is seen as dedication, while silence and sacrifice are seen as strengths, but this often becomes neglectful toward one’s mental health and emotional stability. Healthcare professionals and women are “human,” and they should be treated as such instead of being burdened with the constant need to prove their worth.
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I agree with you completely on this, Dr. Vandita. As a woman in dentistry, though I’m now in a junior position, I see senior dentists who are women. I see their exhaustion, the way they call their children in the middle of the day and say, “I’m busy now, but I miss you,” to their kids. I’ve seen how they stress over their kids’ projects for the next day. I’ve seen how they describe how early they got up to cook food for themselves and their entire family, drive all the way to the clinic, manage patient appointments and treatments, and still they tell me how guilty they feel for not being enough, for not being present enough; they just don’t feel they are doing good enough. But in reality, these are superwomen, balancing everything so perfectly.
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Yes quite true. Female Doctors are the worst affected and least appreciated. Balancing work & life is very tough.
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