We don’t know about you, but our ideal doctor is a no-nonsense lesbian who will tell us exactly what we should do right, let us tell us all of our medical embarrassments without passing judgments, and will make sure we are taking care of our bodies so we don’t have to go to a doctor all that often. But, to be honest, we’ve never found that doctor and have always found it quite hard to find a gay doctor in general.
The New York Times published a piece by Dr. Pauline W. Chen that delves into the institutionalized homophobia in the medical establishment with wit and grace. As Chen recalls, while in her surgical training, a doctor reprimanded a group of them by saying: “Which of you idiots,” he growled at us, “gave my patient a homosexual dose of diuretic?”
Chen sites a recent issue of the journal Academic Pediatrics in which Dr. Mark A. Schuster, head of general pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Boston, “lays bare the experience of being gay in medicine and the constant struggle to ‘choose between being a doctor and being openly gay,’ and says Schuster “delivers unflinching, evenhanded descriptions of a profession that is committed to helping others, yet is also capable of treating some of its own as aberrant.”
Is this why we’ve always felt strange at the doctor’s office? Either we were warned to be wary of our pediatrician or we always wondered if our general practitioner was going to judge us for some silly indiscretion. It seems that our doctors feel just as uneasy and are struggling with just as many conflicts themselves.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Well, here’s at least one voice that’s saying: Please let us have openly gay doctors. It will make all of us just that much more comfortable dealing with our issues—and hopefully allow us to live longer, more productive lives.
Lefty
Look how long it took Doogie Howser to come out.
Me
Hmmm, I go to a big gay health center, so I never feel awkward.
jason
The medical profession is generally extremely conservative and homophobic. I’ve had dealings with it – I know what I’m talking about.
Sean
I know a gay pediatrician, and he’s afraid to come out at work because people already joke about pedophile pediatricians.
jj
I graduated from a big city med school in 2002. It was an extremely homophobic environment, so much so, that I felt I had to go back into the closet or risk my career.
Karthik
As a gay doctor, I will say that I’ve had some encounters with homophobic doctors and nurses. I’ve noticed that fields that attract and reward conservative/extremely type-A personalities (like surgery, ER, etc.) tend to exhibit not only homophobia, but also racism and misogyny, whereas other, more cerebral fields (like IM, Pediatrics, Psychiatry) don’t. One example was when a female surgeon remarked to me and other colleagues who were sitting in the CT-scan suite that her patient was too “fancy” for her because he was wearing makeup and had a manicure (with full body gestures suggesting how “fey” he must be, even though he arrived unconscious). I don’t think she denied him any care specifically, but it had such an impact on me that I went to HR the next day.
I’ve never hid my sexuality, but I also choose not to discuss it except with my friends. People may wonder why–it’s because of the kind of stuff I described above. I’m not ashamed of who I am, but I’d like to also know what kind of person I am disclosing such important information to.
Chris S.
I’m confused about the basis behind all this?
It can’t be because doctors are extra-religious because they’re people of science.
It can’t be because of the health stigma against gays because HIV is an “everyone” disease now.
It can’t be because the sex act is appalling to them because as doctors, they’ve seen EVERYTHING consisting of perverse, freakish, and abnormal acts I can’t even begin to fathom.
So is it just a mirror representation of general homophobia amongst the general population?
I have a wonderful relationship with my doctor and he’s a renown expert in his field. From my experience, the only thing you need to is to get a top intellect in the field and show them over time that you care, are serious, and committed, and when they see the results, you’d be amazed at how their respect for you climbs ten-fold. I think we’re being a little unfair here at mass-categorizing doctors when really they view us through the prism of our health conditions, not what genital went where. That’s pretty silly and reductive.
I think I have to go back to the explanation of just a representation of general society, so my advice would be to shoot for a doctor under 50 years old if you keep getting homophobic ones because old people obviously have a worse track record on homo-inclusive matters.
smith, j
I’ve heard of gay doctors, but I’ve yet to hear of an out gay premed. Every story I read is all “I came out at medical school because I don’t see how my sexuality is relevant to blah blah blah.” I went to Washington University in St. Louis for premed, got all As and A-s my first term, then I came out as gay and was driven out of the institution completely by my fellow (premed) students. While I was there I did not meet a single out gay or lesbian (or bisexual or trans*) premed. Persons with interest in medicine it turns out, are highly driven people who will stoop as low as discrimination in order to appear more competitive, are bad at calculus, and solid portions of them these days don’t even believe in evolution. My guess is looking like a good medical student is about looking like a 1950s conservative and completely blending in with the crowd. Anyways, coming from a medical family, I’m not one to recommend homeopathy, but it’s worth your while to trust no doctors unless they come highly recommended from your lgbt friends AND they state explicitly that they are lgbt affirming. I could go into detail about my doctors not taking my complete lack of sexual functioning on SSRIs seriously because I wasn’t a married heterosexual, or the lectures I got about the “dangers of gay sex” from my primary care doctor despite my repeated explanations that I’m not having any (insult to iatrogenicity), but just trust me that the negative effects of medical homophobia are very real and it’s important to be on the lookout and protect yourself. Also I still *highly* doubt I will make it into medicine. If I do, it will be after getting a PhD in an unrelated field and waiting this whole mess out.
Nicksters
@smith, j:
Maybe things have changed but I was very much out during my medical school applications process, did well and got into 13 of those schools (all of which vocalized interest in my LGBT-related extracurriculars), and am at a top 5 school now that has been nothing but accepting of everyone. To be fair, both undergrad and med school were Northeastern, and I can imagine geography dictating institutional cultural sensitivity, but I just had to chime in and say there are plenty of out premeds nowadays who dont deal with that same degree of homophobia as the previous generation did. the other factor to consider is the number of doctors below 50 who are now assuming administrative roles, including the admissions process.
smith, j
@Nicksters: I’m not sure how your special snowflake experience with the top medical schools is somehow indicative of the lgbt premed experience as a whole.
Nicksters
@smith, j:
Look, I didn’t say that this is everyday practice for people, but if you look at the admissions process nowadays, it’s looking far beyond numbers and stats and they’re actively recruiting people with different backgrounds in an attempt to humanize medicine more. I know for sure my experience is not a rare one.
35 years ago when my mother was starting her residency, women were the exception and not the norm. Guess what? They now comprise over 50% of the med school class, and increasingly close to half in many specialties (surgical specialties not withstanding). And with that increased presence came a decrease in the machismo attitude of medicine. Sure, you still see it, but with a super awareness of diversity among patients being emphasized (ie cultural competency), the younger physician generation is a largely more tolerant one than those currently on their way out from positions of power (ie older men).
Initially, it wasn’t easy to vocalize my orientation, and it still only comes up if it’s relevant to conversation, but I will say that young premeds considering coming out need not be so afraid anymore. Homophobia is still out there, but the resources and administrative policies protecting students are out there, and they’re not going anywhere. And you’ll be surprised how your own struggles will help you be a better, more compassionate physician in the future.
smith, j
@Nicksters: Well, ok. I really hope that’s the case.
aki
It can’t be because of the health stigma against gays because HIV is an “everyone” disease now.
“Funny” because the most HIV-phobic people I have encoutered were people working in the medical field. And I’m not positive , I just do volunteer counseling.
Nisus
@smith, j: I was openly gay at my CATHOLIC undergraduate university, openly gay in my med school applications, and I got accepted to 3 medical schools (2 state, 1 private). I was out in medical school too. I even ran the gay group in undergrad and med school. I graduated med school back in 2005. Nicksters didn’t have a “snowflake” experience.
What?
@Chris S.: You’d be surprised at how religious people in healthcare can be. They don’t suddenly shed their beliefs simply because they take the hippocratic oath.
Stephen
One of the first things I did when I started out on my own was to get a gay doctor.
You have to tell your Dr. EVERYTHING you do in order for them to be able to treat you. There is no point in having to hide who you are in anyway when you are paying someone to take care of your health.
Support gay Dr.s, so they can support you!
Kostas
I read the NY Times article, and it is very dated. Very few examples are given. At several major medical schools in the US today, the Deans are openly gay. Gay faculty members are usually out and often socialize with the gay LGBT student organizations. Beyond med school, my experiences are mainly with the US East Coast, West Coast, Chicago, Seattle, where I never heard of anything that she is talking about. I think that there are individual examples of homophobes everyplace. However, the norm is much more positive in the areas of the country where the gay culture is generally more accepted. I imagine that in the South, perhaps Alaska, and in areas of the mid-West, there may be issues, but not uniquely to medicine, rther rather generally in those societies.
Ross
I think I have a very good perspective to comment n this.
I am currently a graduating senior medical student in a southern state (Louisiana)!going into a surgical specialty that has been out and proud since I was 16 years old. Yes I went to a large southern college and was way way out as a premed student. I didn’t write about it in my personal statement, but it was all over my CV and scholarships from PFLAG etc. I never once felt less of an applicant during medical school or residency applications.
Yes, as a medical student I did experience some homophobia, but in such an intellectual field it’s about how you approach the subject. If they say something offensive I correct it then and there. Its about being respectful yet also making sure everyone feels comfortable. Trust me this is coming from someone who is super duper out and is in no way scared to tell even my patients I am gay if asked.
Pete
My partner is Chief of Staff in his hospital’s department of surgery. For years, at the annual graduation of the surgical residents at the hospital, I am at the head table with my partner. There are numerous other gay couples in the hospital positions of power. The number one nurse in the hospital is a lesbian, and attends functions with her partner. My partner said that once he informed others that he was gay, it had the effect of people stopping the gay comments (not directed toward him), back when he was a resident. A really super macho jock, orthopaedic surgeon contacted us to meet his son, who he said is gay, and wonders how to navigate the workplace. I think that things are vastly improved. The TImes article sounds more like 1980 than 2012.
Paul
I’m a final year medical student at a top 10 medical school ; I came out with my friends/classmates as a medical student and there were absolutely no issues; the same applies for the faculty, residents, nursing staff. Many of them (straight) wear LGBT lapel pins on their white coats. I agree with prior comments that the NYT article seems to describe a bygone era. This is certainly a generational issue. Certainly, I would be shocked to see overt homophobia at any academic medical center or teaching hospital. There certainly persists some element of frat-like, Daily Show-type humor about gays during the late hour shifts, but frank homophobia and institutional bias and prejudice is officially forbidden in principle and non-existent in practice. I incidentally was recently asked about this by a closeted gay undergraduate in one of the classes I TA’d who wanted to go into medicine. Maybe in private practice or rural clinics this may persist.
Also, the article references a loud-mouthed surgeon, but the specialty as a whole has a reputation for raising obnoxious loud-mouths due to the alpha-male nature of the work, the fact that patients are anesthetized and completely unable to hear what is happening, and because qualified surgeons are such a precious commodity to academic medical centers that the administration and deans will tolerate much more bad behavior from them then from other specialists. The worst behavior I ever saw as medical student was always in the OR, but it was never directed at me, fortunately. So I don’t take much stock in that anecdote, even if it was the year 2012.
ScaryRussianHeather
You could change the headline from “doctor” to [enter profession here]. Adult people are rarely living openly but everyone is expecting LGBT children to carry the burden now. and pretending some “law passing” is going to protect them. They should risk their sanity and lives but adults shouldn’t risk their “careers”? hrmph.
Chris S.
OK, it’s me again and this is still very confusing…
After reading all the comments here, it just got more polarizing. Instead of coming to some kind of general consensus, there seems to be to distinct worlds living simultaneously side-by-side and foreign to each other.
How is it possible that the medical world is both these conflicting things at the same time? Someone’s experience must be skewed or else both parties are sensationalizing their worlds to radical extremes.
Where is the factor that can explain these divergent homo-views? Is it the age of the doctor as I suspected earlier? The race of the doctor? The geography of the office/hospital? What the hell is going on?
Chris S.
Sorry, I know I sound uber-analytical about this but I am a financial analyst by profession so I am trying to distill this down to the kernel of truth and pick it apart to its core to try to figure out where problem and answer is here.
Kyle
I haven’t noticed the medical profession being anymore homophobic than any other profession. Fields that are in the category of Science and Technology don’t pay much attention to religion.
Kyle
Are gay people allowed to donate blood and sperm these days?
I donated sperm and they didn’t ask me if I was gay…..although these samples were just being used for research, not for pregnancy.
xkcd
@Chris S.: There are a few things likely going on here. In general, it’s culturally bad for doctors to say anything bad about their colleagues. Second, in most cases, people are going to exaggerate how good their job is and how friendly the people around them are; it’s sort of an in group bias and is mentally protective. Third, these are posts on the internet; we have NO idea if the people posting them are even actual doctors, and if they are, we don’t know if they’re even telling the truth. Fourth, if you read through the posts that claim everything in medicine is fantastic for gay people (actually impossible for a person or any group of people), you’ll notice that many of details don’t make sense and are leaving out some absolutely vital information. For example, the person claiming to have been the head of his catholic university’s “gay” group: in general, catholic universities aren’t allowed to have these groups and if they do have them, there are a number of hoops they have to jump through, including re framing it as a discussion group about sexual and gender minority status, AND they are usually never allowed to make a statement that could be construed as advocating being LGBT. Beyond that, this same person claims he was the head of his medical school’s “gay” group, but it’s baffling that anyone who misidentifies lgbtq groups as “gay” groups would be leading one.
xkcd
@jj: Not sure if you’re following this still, but what do you think of all the people now posting here that are claiming there is absolutely no homophobia in medicine any longer?
Nisus
@xkcd:
You are correct that the undergrad “gay” group was not officially recognized by the administration, but we got support from much of the staff and lower administration and funding from the undergraduate government. That group was actually called the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Community at “blank college.” The med school group was called Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender People in Medicine. I simply did not feel like typing out EVERY SINGLE gay/queer/gender-queer/sexual identity/sexual expression minority on my smart phone and a used the common all-inclusive “gay” group. I know the freaking difference, but thanks for being a jerk to point it out. PS: You forgot to include “intersex” in your tirade, or don’t they count, because as a medical profession I’ve always voiced my opposition to involuntary gender assignment surgery at birth.