A Woman Should Not Be Treated As a Small Man
April 3, 2024 | Leadership, Women in healthcare
What should the future of women’s healthcare look like? Two renowned physicians say it involves a multidisciplinary, holistic approach, where a group of different specialists work together to provide a lifetime course of holistic primary and specialty care.
Career choices are driven by many factors. In medicine, doctors are often drawn to a particular specialty following a personal experience. That is the case with Dr. Sarah Jarvis, MBE, General Practitioner, and resident doctor on BBC Radio 2.
“I decided at the age of seven or eight that I wanted to be a GP—not a doctor, but a GP!” Jarvis says, an early career decision based on her interaction with the family physician who came to the house to treat her father. “I was absolutely overawed by this almost mythical figure who came and made my daddy better. He was somebody who genuinely made a difference,” she recalls.
The mythical GP also gave the fascinated 8-year-old a needle and syringe to “play with” afterwards, says Jarvis, acknowledging that house calls and offering syringes as playthings are both unthinkable today. “I started injecting my teddy bear with [the soft drink] Ribena, and I kept the needle very carefully in a cork.” And from then on, I’ve never wavered. I went all the way through Cambridge and Oxford always wanting to be a GP” — though she kept her aspirations under her hat since the feeling was that at Cambridge and Oxford “we train professors!”
The episode’s other renowned guest, Dr. Bharati Shivalkar, Senior Medical Director for Rare Cardiology at Pfizer and Practicing Consultant Cardiologist at Delta Hospital in Brussels, Belgium, says she settled on a career in medicine somewhat later—at about age 11.
Both physicians agree that one of the (many) gaps in women’s healthcare today is around communication, and creating a safe pathway for open, honest dialog between doctors and patients.
“Communication skills are crucial,” says Jarvis. “They are not ‘soft skills.’ If I have 2 patients come to me, they may have very different priorities depending on what else is going on in their lives. If I don’t know that, and respect that, then they are much less likely to get the treatment that A), they need, and B), are likely to stick with.”
The benefits are many: fewer complications and return visits means a lightened physician workload (and hopefully reduced burnout). Helping women feel better makes their life better, and that of their families. And since many patients are of working age, it will “have a socioeconomic impact. It [has] a ripple effect on communities,” Jarvis says.
There are some exciting advances in women’s health, adds Shivalkar, including “strong movements in certain domains to create equitable, women-centered care involving a multitude of stakeholders.” The future of women’s health, both physicians believe, is a model where different specialists look at women’s issues and work together to provide a lifetime course of care that includes but extends beyond sexual and reproductive health. It’s important to understand that “many sex-specific and sex-related health issues” for example “may eventually cause cardiovascular disease, which takes a huge toll not only on the individual but society at large,” Shivalkar says.
At The World Economic Forum in Davos this year, “the importance of redesigning healthcare for women with women in mind and addressing the healthcare gap” was emphasized, says Shivalkar, largely because it is finally being recognized that it’s “going to create huge societal economic benefits. There’s talk about creating a trillion-dollar business or generating trillion-dollar businesses through improving women’s health. And recently, there’s also been more cultural investments in women’s health research.
“When you put it in terms of economics,” Shivalkar says, “you get a lot more attention.”
You won’t want to miss this conversation. Listen now via Medscape, Apple or Spotify.
Hosted by Jelena Spyropoulos, Vice President of Clinical Strategy and Sales, Medscape Education.
Follow us on LinkedIn for updates on upcoming podcasts and more insightful conversations.
For more information, please contact Jelena Spyropoulos (Global) or Piyali Shin (US).
About Medscape Education Medscape Education (medscape.org) is the leading destination for continuous professional development, consisting of more than 30 specialty-focused destinations offering thousands of free accredited CME and CE courses for physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.
This content was provided by Medscape Education
Company Details
Latest Content from Medscape Education
Medscape’s Virtual Patient Simulation Makes a Significant Impact on Real-World Treatment Selection for T2D
An analysis of data using Real-World Outcomes showed that a virtual patient simulation had a significant effect on real-world treatment selection for T2D. The paper, published in JMIR Medical Education,...
A Rare Disease Update from Medscape Education
A Novel Provider Education Module to Enhance Detection of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency
New Outcomes Are a Breath of Fresh Air at ERS
ERS 2023 will mark the new release of outcomes data by Medscape Education Global. During the poster hall sessions on September 12, the Medscape team will present a poster that...
Medscape Education Launches 20th Older Driver Safety Educational Program
Education Supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Protecting the Heart Through Education at ESC 2023
Medscape Education Global is joining cardiology professionals from across Europe for ESC 2023 in Amsterdam. This year’s congress theme is “Joining Forces to Protect the Heart,” and Medscape will be...
Medscape’s Rare Disease Learning Center Has Reached 1 Million Learners
The Pathways in Rare Disease Learning Center celebrates a momentous achievement - engaging one million learners in its educational initiatives. This milestone signifies a profound impact on clinician confidence in...
Continuing Medical Education Outcomes are Much More Than Statistical Significance
At Medscape Education, we hold ourselves to the highest standards when it comes to analysing our programs. Our approach is unparalleled, employing a precise paired method that ensures we measure the...
The Most Important Person in the Room—A Look at Patient -Centricity at EHA
Across all of healthcare, a greater focus is being placed on patient centricity in order to improve outcomes and enhance patients’ quality of life. Although patient centricity is necessary in...
Innovation in Education Leads to Positive Outcomes at EAN 2023
The Medscape team recently returned from the 9th Annual Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) in Budapest, Hungary. Among the various highlights of the congress, the team showcased...
The Lasting Impact of Cytomegalovirus Education
Education on the signs, symptoms, and potential complications of cytomegalovirus (CMV) is in need of constant development, as this common disease affects nearly 1 in 3 children by age 5...