While practicing medicine is generally considered as among the top professions in society, a doctor has gone viral after expressing disbelief at people’s “internalized biases.”
Dr Sarah (@docsarah.do) explained in a TikTok video that she had been out in her scrubs to attend a consultation for laser surgery when a woman asked her where she worked.
In the video, which has amassed 450.8k views and 44.5k likes on TikTok, Sarah recounted the awkward moment that followed.
The medic called for people to unlearn their biases when automatically assuming doctors to be male.
The doctor of osteopathic medicine (DU) from Arizona said on the platform: “It’s not uncommon for this to happen, where people ask me what I do, and I tell them that I’m a resident, or I tell them I’m a doctor.
“Whichever version of that I say, and their jaw just drops, because they either think I’m an MA, a physical therapist, a nurse, any type of health care provider that’s not just a doctor.”
Newsweek reached out to u/@docsarah.do for comment via TIkTok. We could not verify the details of the case.
The doctor said she wore her scrubs to an appointment to see if she could have LASIK surgery, but she found she was not a suitable candidate since her corneas are too thin.
In the waiting room, a woman asked her if she worked in a doctor’s office and she revealed she worked in a hospital.
Sarah added: “She was just talking to me in a tone of like, oh, my gosh, it’s so cute. Do you work in a doctor’s office?”
The doctor revealed she was a resident, and the woman asked what her specialism was in response.
She told her she worked in internal medicine but she was pursuing a fellowship in critical care.
Sarah said: “And her jaw dropped. On one hand, it’s entertaining to watch people be so surprised, but on another hand, I feel uncomfortable because I feel like I’m correcting people. And I don’t wanna feel that way.”
The doctor shared her frustration with the deep-rooted unconscious patriarchal biases among people where they assume the most technical and prestigious postions are held by men.
Though she admitted she had to unlearn her own biases and break a habit of assuming doctors were men when talking to patients.
She used the example of asking her patient when the last time they saw their primary care physician (PCP), using “him” instead of “them.”
She said: “Now I say “them” because I know that doctors are women and men and I need to break this bias.
“So I understand that it’s hard because I’ve had to break it myself.
“I just get so uncomfortable in these situations, ’cause I feel like I’m correcting people”
According to a study titled “Inequity and Women Physicians: Time to Change” published in The Permanente Journal, these biases lead to slower career advancement, underrepresentation in higher-up positions, lower attendance at lectures, lower pay, imposter syndrome and burnout.
Commenters related to Sarah’s story and shared their own anecdotes.
Shali Perez said: “My mom was an internist and it was always interesting seeing how quick people changed/acted when the found out she was a Dr.”
Annushka said: “This reminds me of one year, my boy/girl twins were wearing identical Halloween (white coat doctor) costumes, and someone called my boy a ‘doctor’ and my girl a ‘nurse.’”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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