Of Quartz It Is Hard Not To Take It For Granite

I've never been mistaken for a nurse. Even when I was in undergrad, working weekends in the emergency department, in a non-clinical capacity (granted, I did wear scrubs and carry a computer or clipboard) I was mistaken for a doctor more times than I can count. Not once did I enter the room and have a patient tell the other end of a telephone conversation that 'the nurse is here, I gotta go." But dozens of times in the span of a year or so, I had them say 'the doctor is here, I gotta go." These days i walk into a room, and they correctly assume I am a doctor. 

When I have patients refer to my colleagues, including medical students, as nurses -- it is always based on their gender. I've seen responses that are highly varied, and I respect them all. But now, I can't help but step in and politely point out the fact that this is actually doctor so and so, or medical student blah blah blah. If nothing else, the patient should be aware of who and in what capacity a caregiver fulfills. At best, they might be reminded that women are actual human beings, capable of operating at the absolute top of any given professional capacity. 

I've never been accused of being a frail, small and incapable man. Tallish at 6'1", big boned with plenty of musculature left over from the days when I would treat myself well enough to actually exercise on a regular basis. I've had very few patients try and physically intimidate me. Furthermore, I've been in a handful of sticky situations in my life, with real bodily harm being a succinct possibility and those were scary places to be. A situation in which a CHF exacerbation patient who can't walk to the bathroom without dyspnea who tries to stand up and intimidate my colleague, who, of course, is female by standing up and raising his voice and trying to tower over her, can be intense, but scary? No way. 

I feel very protective of the people I work with; I think we are all protective of each other. This current climate of men of power being called out for abusing their influence and stature for sexual gratification, exploitation and dominance seems like a healthy cultural purge. If anything, for me, it acts to highlight disparities and conveniences I am prone to take for granted.  I wish to give a shout out to the doctors who regularly do this job on hard mode. Simply for being a woman.