Welcome Chaise Lounge readers! We have a week full of news to examine, so let’s get started. For some reason, the research gods published a number of different studies focused on sexism in the medical community. From surgeon referrals, to pay, to patient outcomes, you won’t want to miss this information. I know that I will be using this research to inform some of my medical decisions. Let me know what you think in the comments. But first, let’s move onto our other updates.
Global Updates
For this week’s global news update, I invite you to read Akshi Chawla’s article in the #WomenLead newsletter on five women who most likely would have won their elections to lead their countries if the authoritarian men who were running against them did not put them in jail and/or exile. Chawla’s identification of this pattern worldwide certainly made me pause and think about the ways that patriarchy will stop at nothing to contain its power.
National Updates
Gymnasts reach a $380 million settlement with USA Gymnastics, U. S. Olympic Committee
The gymnasts who were abused by former team doctor Larry Nassar were awarded a $380 million settlement from Team USA and the U.S. Olympic Committee. The settlement comes after the painful and public trial of Nassar where the gymnasts gave testimony that led to his conviction. Earlier this year, several gymnasts also testified in front of a Congressional committee reliving their trauma publicly once again. In July, the Department of Justice Inspector General published a report pointing to severe dereliction of duty by FBI agents who could have stopped the abuse years earlier. A lawyer for many of the gymnasts, John Manly, says that the remaining piece to fully resolve the wrongs done to these women is the prosecution of those FBI agents.
Homicide is the leading cause of maternal mortality
We already know that the maternal mortality rates in the United States are abysmal when compared to other developed countries. But what we haven’t known until recently was the fact that the leading cause of maternal mortality is homicide perpetrated by intimate partners. A new study out of Tulane University in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology uses data only available since 2018 to analyze the rates of maternal death by homicide. The study results show that homicide during pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy exceeded all the leading causes of maternal mortality by more than twofold. Women who were pregnant or recently gave birth were 16 times more likely than women who were not pregnant to be murdered. And for Black women, the increase in homicides of pregnant women increased eightfold. Two thirds of these homicides involve firearms. Just wondering what the right to life folks will do with this information?
Sexism Among Doctors Quantified
New research opens old wounds
A new series of studies about the impact of gender in the medical field were published recently, and they tell quite a story.
Surgery referrals differ by surgeon’s gender
A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) of over 40 million referrals for surgery found that male physicians referred patients primarily to other male surgeons. While males make up 77 percent of surgeons, male physicians referred their patients to male surgeons 87 percent of the time. Female physicians referred to male surgeons 79 percent of the time. The only area where there was a difference was when male physicians were more likely to refer female patients to female surgeons. These data show that referral biases affect female surgeons’ livelihood.
The gender of your surgeon may affect your surgical outcome
Staying in the medical arena, another JAMA study looking at surgical outcomes of over 1.3 million operations found that 14 percent of patients had some sort of adverse post-operative outcome defined as death, readmission, or complication within 30 days of the surgery. They then looked at the gender of the doctor and patient and found that female patients of male surgeons had significantly worse outcomes than female or male patients of female surgeons.
Study finds that female doctors make $2 million less than males over 40 year career span
A study published in Health Affairs found that over a typical 40-year career, female doctors make up to $2 million dollars less than their male counterparts. And the pay disparities began from the first year of employment. The researchers controlled for variables like the number of hours worked, the doctor’s specialty and location, as well as the number of patients seen.
Some female doctors are taking the reins to correct this problem by forming organizations that empower female doctors and are working toward pay equity. Women in Medicine, Women’s Wellness through Equity and Leadership Program, and the Association of Black Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists are examples of organizations involved in this important issue.
The takeaway
Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to your body. Reading these studies in-depth only strengthens my bias toward finding female doctors for the majority of my healthcare. When I see that surgical outcomes for women operated on by men are worse, that gives me pause. When I see that surgical referrals favor male doctors, it makes me more likely to get a second opinion from a female doctor. Of course, I look at other important information, like surgical outcome data, to make decisions, but this is easy, top-of-the-shelf information that informs my decisions.
It is especially interesting to me that in spite of being paid less, referred to less, female surgeons have better outcomes than male surgeons, especially if you are a female patient. It really makes me wonder what advances could happen in the medical profession if female doctors were actually treated as equals?
What I’m watching
I am late to the party, but I have been watching Pen15 on Hulu and find it to be totally relatable. Even though the middle school girls are growing up in the ‘90s (for me, it was the ‘70s), the issues that the girls are dealing with are universal. If you haven’t given it a try, I recommend.
What I am listening to
I love listening to poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama’s podcast Poetry Unbound. Each listen, I come away feeling a little more myself, but in an ethereal way. In addition to his warm Irish brogue, Ó Tuama shares a poem that has deep meaning first by reading it, then by analyzing it within its own context, and then reading it again. You hear the poem completely differently after he has given the listener an assist. Just lovely.
Food for thought
I invite you to listen to this interview of children’s author, Jason Reynolds by Stephen Colbert. I found it to be incredibly thought-provoking and real in a way that we do not usually see on talk shows. From discussing anxiety to book banning, I found him to be comforting to listen to and wise.
Sexism Among Doctors Quantified