Tag: patients

Don’t you wish your gyno was hot like mine?

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Initial disclaimer: Before you read this, please understand that this is intended for humor only.

So, I hear from men all the time that I must have the greatest job in the world! This leads me to believe that, in their mind, I spend my days with hot, sexy, naked women and their perfect bodies and private parts all day long to my heart’s desire. In addition, I am sure that these same fine gentleman wish that they were a hot, male gynecologist like in the 1989 SNL sketch Mel Gibson: Dream Gynecologist. (Yes it’s real. Look it up. )

I hate to burst your bubble gentleman, but first of all…Ewww….and COME ON! These kind of comments just exemplify ignorance regarding what I actually do and what attracts women to a particular physician. First of all, let me clear up what I do all day long. I see women of all body types, ages and colors for every kind of health and pelvic issue that you could imagine from incontinence to infections to cancer. Yes that’s right gentleman. It is much harder to get them in for routine maintenance when everything is perfect ” down there” like the vaginas you are dreaming about as opposed to when something is “amiss.” That includes elderly women who bring me their crusty underwear, wondering what that discharge is all about and women with STDs that have gone untreated for a long time. It’s not all fun and games gentleman. This is a serious job, not some endless beauty pageant of genitalia. You may not believe this, but once you stare at anything consistently for a long time, day in and day out, the excitement wains. I guarantee it.

Now let’s deconstruct the hot male gynecologist ideal. Be prepared to have your mind blown. Did you know that multiple patient surveys have been conducted regarding possible gender bias in patient selection of a gynecologist? Most patients said that they picked their gynecologist based upon experience, not gender. Those that did pick based on gender usually picked a female because they felt that a female would be better capable of understanding what they were going through. There were still a few that picked a male, yearning back for the days of 1950’s patriarchal medicine, but they were not the majority. Now add on top of that the fact that patients have said that they would feel too intimidated if they picked a gynecologist that was too good looking. In other words, the odds may be ever NOT in your favor if you are a hottie. Sorry.

Well, I hope that I was able to clear up some of your misconceptions about the real world of gynecology. For now, I will just keep on keepin on with my frumpy, female badass self. Cheers!

Have a great day all!

Dr. Katz

Isn’t it strange that it’s ok that I’m human now, but it wasn’t ok before?

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Traditionally, it seems that most patients do not view their physicians as actual, potentially flawed human beings. It’s just too uncomfortable a concept. If patients viewed their doctors as humans, that would mean that they would have to acknowledge the fact that they can make mistakes, have emotions, have physical ailments, and emergencies as well. To most patients, that is an untenable thought. Their doctors need to be superhuman, infallible, and infinitely available at a moment’s notice. This kind of thinking allows patients to engage in demanding, unreasonable, and entitled behavior at times and puts a significant burden on the doctor patient relationship.

Interestingly, this seems to have turned around somewhat now in the time of COVID. Now it seems like patients are attaching themselves more to doctors who are showing their human side. The videos I post of myself at home in regular clothes or talking about how I finally figured out how to do my nails by myself get tons of views. Patients are listening with baited breath to see how I might be struggling with all of these changes. It’s as if listening to me is giving them tacit consent that it’s ok not to be ok right now. I feel like giving them a glimpse into me as a person is actually helpful right now. I can potentially help guide them through the proverbial tunnel to the other side of this thing. I get excited when I post my Facebook live daily video in the morning and all those people tune in. Knowing that I am able to reach all those people in a positive way helps me too. Personally I am loving it. If I can be myself with patients and still help them at the same time, I am all in! I would prefer to be that way all the time, within reason of course. I still stand by what I have said in previous blogs. Patients who are suffering or have just been given a terrible diagnosis do not necessarily care how I am feeling at the moment. Common sense still has to reign supreme here. I guess what I am really saying is that I hope the compassion doesn’t die out when the pandemic does. Have a great day everybody!

Dr. Katz

Mom you’ve got 4 eyeballs!

Well that’s not something you hear every day! Nope. Only when your poor child is post anesthesia from oral surgery and is laying there somewhere between laughing and crying and begging for chicken nuggets….which you know would be an absolute disaster. Sometimes you get lucky and they also start spouting about how much they love you and that you are the best mom ever. So, it must be true right? Yup, those are the times ripe for future blackmail material. The temptation to pull out my phone and take a quick video is strong. I just want a few minutes to save for later maybe when all hope seems lost in the middle of a teenage argument devoid of reason. What harm could it do? Well, no harm except for your teenager vowing to never speak to you again, but how many times have you heard that one only to have them yelling at you about something else moments later? Oh yes. Empty threats at best. We have all been there.

So, let’s talk a little bit about anesthesia for a minute. Anesthesia is somewhat of a magical and frightening creature at the same time. It allows us to drift off to another place to allow necessary and painful procedures to be performed safely. It allows us as physicians to get a glimpse into the uninhibited treasure trove of thoughts that are racing around in a patient’s mind, the things that we never get to hear at the office. Sometimes these anesthesia ramblings help physicians with a diagnosis or help us uncover a stressful social situation for the patient that we didn’t know about. As patients, it also somehow absolves us of any accountability for what we might say or do under it’s effects. On the other hand, it is kind of a frightening thought that you could have carried on a whole conversation, done terrible things and had no idea that it even happened. I have been under anesthesia many times for different reasons and each experience has been a little different. I have felt like I was thrown abruptly back into my own body from somewhere in the hinterlands while struggling to rejoin a conversation that I had apparently been having for the last 20 minutes. I have woken up bawling my eyes out for no apparent reason. I have woken up surrounded by staff members looking really somber, thinking that I must have just been diagnosed with something terrible, only to find out that they were just disappointed that I wasn’t funnier under anesthesia that time. (Apparently I am quite the cut up usually.)

I have to admit, I have heard some juicy tidbits over the years from patients that could fill a whole book of memoirs. And yet, all their secrets remain safe with me. It’s a code of ethics and honor man. Sometimes I get lucky with patients and they say wonderful things about me and about the staff and how much they love me. I have to admit, these are pretty great moments. I stand there thinking okay! This is what they really think! Yes! I must have done something right! Whoo! I already said that anesthesia was like truth serum right? Then, those same patients wake up fully and are as crabby and onerous as ever and you think to yourself, ” Oh well. We’ll always have Versed. “

Have a fantastic day everyone!

Dr. Katz