# Women: a poll regarding male gynecologists and male medical students **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 22, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166 "2010-06-22T21:31:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/81 "2010-06-24T01:05:51Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I have a preference because I’ve found that as a general rule, female docs (and PAs and NPs) tend to be a little gentler and empathetic. I’ve had a couple of bad experiences with females, and also with males. The gentlest person to examine me was a male PA, as it happens. But if I know nothing more about a doctor than his/her sex, I’m probably going to choose a female, because of my experiences. I also think that women are less likely to dismiss things like cramps. I don’t know how many male doctors told me that cramps were all in my head, before studies came out that showed that cramps are an actual physical problem. Female doctors never said or implied that. Whereas I have never had this experience. The only bad gynos I’ve seen were female. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/82 "2010-06-24T01:19:35Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Do male medical students ever actually get up in the stirrups, with the edge of their bare ass hanging off the edge of the table? > > Seriously, **Speaker** , if they don’t have you do that, I’d find an empty room and give it a try. It might even be a conversation started when you are giving exams. For full effect, you need to be wearing nothing but an exam gown/paper jacket, there needs to be a rather warm light shining _right_ on your balls/taint, and a complete stranger\* needs to have their head between your thighs in a position you associate 99% of the time with receiving oral sex. Oh, and that person should be getting ready to shove something with edges up your ass. (Now think about doing that at minimum once a year from the time you get out of high school until you’re in your 50’s. This is why women are overwhelmingly unsympathetic when men balk at getting checkups after 50 because they don’t want a prostate exam.) \*Or someone your husband work with, who turns up in your living room every time your have a party. I infinitely prefer the stranger, myself. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/83 "2010-06-24T01:25:06Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > For full effect, you need to be wearing nothing but an exam gown/paper jacket, there needs to be a rather warm light shining _right_ on your balls/taint, and a complete stranger\* needs to have their head between your thighs in a position you associate 99% of the time with receiving oral sex. Oh, and that person should be getting ready to shove something with edges up your ass. So, SDMB doctors, DO male med students ever try this? If you are male, did you ever? I really didn’t mean this as a rhetorical question. I think it’s a damn good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/84 "2010-06-24T02:20:19Z")
> [@Juliana](#): > > I like my OB/GYN to be male. I can’t see ever going to a female. Prefer is the wrong word: it’s one of those things I’ve always done, and I don’t see it changing. If something happened to the one I’m seeing, I would not look for a female. There are some advantages. The only OB/GYN I ever saw was male. I had an easier time getting appointments than most of my friends. I got to pull the “No, you DON’T know what this feels like” on him - and he readily agreed. He had a smaller patient load - the only male OB in the practice with the smallest load. And he wasn’t bad looking either. As I said, I currently see a female nurse practitioner. My primary physician before that was a male internal medicine practitioner. I sort of figure an annual pap, with a quicky feel around the internals isn’t terribly important - or rather, its just as important as checking me for diabetes, etc. I’m a complete person, not just a few female parts. ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/85 "2010-06-24T02:44:55Z")
I would’ve refused you too. Sorry, that’s just the way I am. I would feel awkward around male doctors/med students and especially more so if they’re attractive to me. It’s weird enough having somebody poke around my fun zones, let alone somebody of the opposite sex (can’t really explain it better than that, but I wish you all the luck with your schooling!) ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/86 "2010-06-24T03:37:40Z")
I had my baby at a training hospital and agreed to have students present. They were very serious and professional, however at one point I apparently said “right, fuck off the lot of you” and they all trotted out. The next day a nurse came up to me and said in a low voice, 'I know you checked ok, for the students, but it’s not too late to change your mind." A different group this time, tittering and nudging. I told the doc I’d changed my mind. I’d endured quite a few poking and prodding experiences before one female gyno said “hmm I get it, your cervix is on its side.” Aha! So with the next full prod-on exam I mentioned that to the gyno who was reaching for a larger speculum - she sighed testily and went back in with the smaller one reporting “it’s not “on it’s side” it’s slightly tilted.” Well, whatever, it’s slightly tilted enough to be on the side where you can’t find it. I’ve had more female gynos than male, some of the female ones were not sympathetic. No problems with the male ones, the most skillful one I had was a woman. Originally Posted by CrazyCatLady “For full effect, you need to be wearing nothing but an exam gown/paper jacket, there needs to be a rather warm light shining right on your balls/taint, and a complete stranger\* needs to have their head between your thighs in a position you associate 99% of the time with receiving oral sex. Oh, and that person should be getting ready to shove something with edges up your ass.” AND CRANK IT OPEN! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/87 "2010-06-24T07:56:43Z")
> [@Audrey\_Levins](#): > > I had a pelvic exam–albeit not a Pap–for the first time from a very old male doctor…I had just had surgery on my backside (for a pilonidal cyst) and he had zero zero sympathy for me when he asked me to “slide down further! Open your legs wider!” > > And I tried to explain that I had JUST had surgery on the very spot on my ass that he was trying to get me to “slide down” on…and he wasn’t hearing it. He quite clearly wanted to get it over with and get me out of his exam room. Regardless of my feelings on the matter, or the pain he was causing me. > > I hated that old man. Thinking about him now, I still hate him. > > I’ve gone to Planned Parenthood for my Paps since then, for years, and they have lovely kind sympathetic Nurse Practitioners who have never made me feel anything but comfortable and relaxed. And they’ve done so many Paps that half the time I don’t even feel the “Giant Q-Tip.” > > 'm not saying I would never consent to a man doing my Pap, but I would greatly prefer a woman. She has the same plumbing. It just makes me feel easier and more relaxed. > > As for a med student observing? Um, no. There are plenty of vaginas elsewhere. I find the whole thing annoying/distressing enough as it is. I don’t want spectators. I’ve never had a pilonidal cyst, but my husband had one, and I was the lucky person who got to clean it and change the dressing on it for several weeks. All I can say about the THOUGHT of getting a pelvic exam after such a surgery is ouch, ouch, ouch. And OUCH! I’ve never met that old man, and _I_ hate him. I don’t care how skilled he was clinically, he’s probably been responsible for hundreds of women having bad experiences, and probably many of those women put off needed exams because of him. Oh yes, and to all the medical personnel…DO let the patient know BEFORE you perform a digital rectal exam. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/88 "2010-06-24T09:35:48Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > I think this is it. Some women who might have been fine being observed during a regular exam, or an exam when everything feels okay down there, may not want a student hearing them reveal their number of recent sex partners, talking about their one-night stand, requesting STD tests or abortion advice, describing vaginal itching, etc. and sadly, THAT is where alot of the real world experience they desperately need comes from. IANAD but I was an EMT and nothing in a classroom can prepare you for the reality you will experience in the feild. Thats why hands on practical training with real patients is so important. Medicine is not an exact science and maximizing sudents exposure to as many situations as possible makes for better trained doctors, nurses, paramedics, whatever… On day 3 of my ride alongs in EMT school the medic basically said if we get something that can be managed within the scope of an EMT-1 cert, its basically my call. I do all the talking, I examine the patient, take vitals, and reccomend/implement treatment. A few calls later we got a kid who fell off his bike and had a tibia fracture. Mom did not look amused about the student taking care of her kid but medic was hovering over me the whole time so she didn’t say anything. I will never forget that kids name. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/89 "2010-06-24T12:13:49Z")
Our GP, who is male, also teaches at the local medical school. From time to time he has a student with him in the office, and the student asks if it’s OK to observe. I’ve always said yes, though I don’t remember if this ever came up during pregnancy check-ups or anything similar. (I get pap smears and all that done at the groino’s office, not the GP’s.) In fact, the only student I remember particularly was one who was a touch _too_ eager to mess around with my son’s badly infected ingrown toenail :eek: - well, some of us avoid any jobs in the medical field because we can’t handle the gross stuff, I suppose it’s inevitable that others are attracted to medicine for the very same reason 😛 (GP commented that Mother might want to go get a drink of water at that point, which I did, thank you very much.) I’ve always said OK to the students. If I didn’t want med students in the room, I could always find another GP, but I _like_ this GP. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/90 "2010-06-24T21:56:25Z")
I don’t mind male OB/GYN but I don’t want any medical students, of either gender. I’m a doctor. My logic is thus- I don’t want someone who may one day be my future colleague, employee or boss to be privy to that level of information and intimate examinations. Actual OB/GYNS- well, I know I won’t be working with them as I’m going to be a GP and when I was having irishbaby I asked my friends who were working in the maternity hospital not to see me. I’d be happy to have students involved in my care if I knew the only time I’d ever see them again would be in their professional capacity as a doctor- when I might be supervising their work or giving them a tutorial on chest Xrays the next week it is rather a disincentive to having them present. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/91 "2010-06-25T00:03:25Z")
I think I’d have been more uncomfortable when I was younger, but now I really don’t care. If some med student can learn from me, that’s great. ---
**Author:** ![kathmandu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kathmandu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kathmandu)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/92 "2010-06-25T01:07:39Z")
I have a male doctor and wouldn’t mind having a male student observe. I would draw the line at having him practice an exam on me though - pelvic exams are physically a bit painful for me and I don’t want to have to do it more than once. ---
**Author:** ![MN\_Maenad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e95f7d/32.png) [@MN\_Maenad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MN_Maenad)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/93 "2010-06-25T18:47:36Z")
> [@badbadrubberpiggy](#): > > It’s just kind of disconcerting having someone there just silently watching everything. I too, find it a little disconcerting, but for the most part, I think that doctors being properly trained is more important than my mild (and I emphasize _mild_) discomfort. (I sympathize with those of you for whom it would be more than that!) I also have pretty strict standards as to how professionally I want doctors to treat me, and anyone who was leering or tittering or judgmental of my body or choices\* gets the old Superiority Stare and icy words. Granted, I’ve never had to use it, but I have no problems asserting boundaries, even with my feet in the stirrups. I’ve had mostly women as gynos, but for years I saw a man, the one who performed my tubal ligation in fact, and he was fantastic, respectful, everything a doctor should be. The only problem docs I’ve had were GPs, not specialists. - e.g. being childfree > [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > Oh, and that person should be getting ready to shove something with edges up your ass. Don’t ask me how I know this, but they make anal speculums. (specula?) Anyway, they have three prongs rather than 2, but I’d assume (ha ha), that they’re rather uncomfortable as well. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/94 "2010-06-25T19:49:59Z")
Don’t mind students hanging around at all. Any opportunity to help someone learn, hey. I even joked a little with one student who was still with the doctor in a consultation room or something later after a gyno exam, saying, “well, you’ve met my other end!” I’d prefer a male OB/GYN 'cause I like businesslike people. \*\*In my experience \*\*women doctors will talk down to their patients, use oversimplified language, and overall, try to be too “tender” and “approachable”. Just do the job. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/95 "2010-06-25T23:22:04Z")
I actually prefer a male doctor as well, though I can’t pinpoint why. Everywhere I’ve gone, there was always at least one female nurse/assistant in the room to “chaperone” (if there was more than one, they were restocking shelves or something!). I wouldn’t be comfortable with two men in the room, but two men and a woman would be fine. Students need to learn, and if I’m going to be profoundly uncomfortable anyway, then I might as well go whole-hog and let _someone_ get something good out of the experience! ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/96 "2010-06-26T03:43:37Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > I wouldn’t be comfortable with two men in the room, but two men and a woman would be fine. Sounds like my last date. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/97 "2010-06-26T04:16:44Z")
I am not comfortable with a doctor who has an odd [face](http://www.daniellecorsetto.com/gws.html). Or an overly odd sense of humor, if it comes to that. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/98 "2010-06-26T04:23:15Z")
Mid 40’s, no gender preference. In the Great White North GP’s perform the annual prod and poke, so usually it’s my (female) doctor who does it,but I went to the same male gyno for years for treatment of Issues and he, bluntly stated, gives good Pap. Once he was the observer; he came to rubberneck at some groovy new treatment I was getting. I was so wasted on whatever anaesthesia they give you that doesn’t knock you out but just turns you into a Woodstock attendee on day three, they could have trooped the whole medical school through and had each pose for a picture next to my ultrasound monitor. But I digress, greatly I haven’t had a student attending at any doctor visit I’ve had for years, but sure, come in, hang out, learn something. I’d probably refuse to be speculum’d twice but if you want to have a look and a prod while the going’s good, sure. The one thing I’d probably refuse is playing pin cushion so someone can learn to stick an IV. My veins suck, hardened lifer lab techs have taken as many as ten tries before throwing in the vial and calling a cardiac nurse down from the ward. That’s all the dermal trauma I need, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/99 "2010-06-26T14:08:52Z")
I turned 25 this year, so got a happy birthday “It’s time for your first pap smear!” letter from the NHS. I asked for a woman. I’d rather not have some male stranger touching my privates. The female nurse who did it was lovely. From heating the equpment to talking me through the procedure before hand. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166/100 "2010-06-26T17:41:47Z")
BTW to the OP, it sems that one of your premises was somewhat incorrect (“I don’t think about half of women would refuse to see a male gyncologist…”) According to the poll results, a bit over a third of women would refuse to see a male gynecologist if a choice was available. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-a-poll-regarding-male-gynecologists-and-male-medical-students/544166.md?page=6)