Gender Stereotyping in Medicine! GRRRR

Can I vent for a minute, please?  Of course I can... it's my blog.  I realize that sexism (or should I say gender stereotyping) exists, less extreme than it used to be, but definitely still present.  My personal experiences were few prior to starting med school, but since being in medicine have increased exponentially.  It drives me BONKERS every time it happens.  So ladies, especially those of you that are in medicine, I'm sure you can relate.  Here is how it usually goes...

Other person: "Oh you're graduating, what were you studying??  (or previously: oh you're in school... blah blah blah)"

Me: "I am finishing up medical school."

Other person: "Oh that's so great! Are you going to be a nurse?  We need more great nurses!"

Me: "No, I'm going to be a doctor.  Nurses go to nursing school.  Doctors go to medical school."

OR:

Me: (wearing scrubs)

Other person: taps me on the shoulder, "Excuse me, NURSE"


OR:

Me: (wearing scrubs)

Attending or Resident: rambles off some orders

Me: staring blankly

Attending or Resident: "aren't you that patient's nurse?"

Me: (staring blankly) "Um, no.  I'm a med student."

SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHY EVERYONE ASSUMES THAT A FEMALE IN SCRUBS IS A NURSE?!  THAT NEVER HAPPENS TO THE MALES...I'VE ASKED.  It even happens ALL THE TIME in the non-medical community (see first scenario).  


JUST BECAUSE I'M A GIRL DOESN'T MEAN I'M A NURSE!!!  Come on now!

Still hard to believe...

It's beginning to happen on almost a daily basis now. To believe that the first time was only a few weeks ago and now daily, and still, every time it happens I am taken aback.  Dr. "Ash".  That's me... yep... still hasn't really sunk in...still strange when the mail comes addressed to me as Dr.  I realize that I now have less than a month before orientation starts and that pretty much terrifies me in a way and excites me at the same time.  The conflicting emotions are SO confusing!  I went by the VA last week to have my fingerprints done and as I was sitting in the HR office I had a very surreal moment.  There were several other people coming in to be printed as well, all of them interns.  I had a moment of depersonalization as I sat there.  It reminded me (and yes I am about to say it) of a Grey's Anatomy moment.  I am about to be an INTERN....the dreaded NEW interns.  Gah..... we know that everyone hates us and thinks that we are incompetent.  I'm sure that everyone chuckles as they begin to see the lost "terns" walking through the halls, staring at their papers trying to figure out where they are supposed to be.  That was totally me...lost...staring at my map...getting directions from the first person with a badge I came across.  So it begins...prayers would be appreciated!  Somehow, I have to figure out how to not look like a fool!  AND to top things off, I'm ON CALL my VERY FIRST DAY OF WORK!  Let's hope the expectations aren't too high and my uppers will be nice to me!  Geez.... I'm SO not ready for this!

Insanity just showed me how insanely out of shape I am... sad

I've decided I should stop being lazy and try to get my butt into shape over the next month or so before I have to start running up and down the wards.  I thought about it for a good month or two and am now actually doing something about it.  Isn't that usually how it works?!  You plan out all of these amazing workouts in your mind and then don't end up doing anything; kinda like Pinterest! LOL  (I, however, have made it a point to try quite a few things that I have pinned thus far and have been happy with ALMOST all of them).

So in my quest to get into shape, I downloaded Shaun T's Insanity series.  I cheated a little by doing the Fit Test a few days before actually beginning the workouts, but that was mainly because after JUST the fit test I was so sore! The two people that he has demonstrating the moves made me a little angry with how many reps they were able to finish in the allotted time period.  Some days being competitive is REALLY annoying, mainly when I'm losing! Today was my first REAL workout day.  Plyometrics Cardio Circuit.  For those of you that don't know what plyometrics are, it's basically a lot of jumping moves.  Halfway through, I was already drenched in sweat and gasping for air.  Ugh, I knew I was out of shape and was prepared to get my butt kicked, but it was pretty brutal.  I can see it now, when I wake up in the morning and roll over to get out of bed, I'm going to regret every jump and lunge I did today!  Let's hope for continued success with Day 2!  I will keep you posted.

Signed, Sealed and Delivered...well, sort of

****Drum roll please****

We have a house!  Paperwork is signed and we have a potential move in date of June 9th with the hopes of getting in a few days earlier!  Sighs of relief all around, please.  Now, onto the packing and moving parts.  I've been doing some hunting and getting quotes and can I just say that moving is so PRICEY!  It is so much more than the last time we hired movers to move everything to the island.  Grant it, that was only  a 45 mile move, but still...  Donations would gladly be accepted to be added to the moving fund!

In other news, I'm a bachelorette for the next month.   The hubs has already packed up and moved to SAT and started his new job on Monday.  It is eerily quiet around here sometimes and I can only talk to the dogs so much... I need feedback and not just head tilts.  It has only been a few days and I'm already going nuts.  I spent the ENTIRE day shopping yesterday, and I believe most of the day before shopping online...definitely not what I need to be doing right now before we shell out all of the dough to move!  Again, this is why we need donations to the moving fund!  I know I should be using this time to pack and organize, but I've yet to acquire boxes.  I am scouring the internet for listings because I think it is silly to spend hundreds on packing boxes when they are easily recycled and reused.  If any of you know of anyone with boxes, pass their info along!

So I know all of you are back simply because I mentioned BABIES in my teaser post and I have a feeling that you are about to be disappointed when you realize that there are no babies to announce in this household... my apologies, but had to get you to come back didn't I?!  I am obviously in the "time-to procreate" stage of life because nearly all of my college and high school friends are on baby one or two (some even more).  I feel like every time I log onto Facebook, someone else is announcing their pregnancy (or having it announced for them accidentally!).  I mean, seriously?!  As if having all of our friends having babies wasn't enough torture!  After spending few days cuddling miss Zoe last week, I definitely felt the tug, but listening to her scream inconsolably calmed that a bit! LOL...she's still a precious little thing and I loved our cuddle time and being able to spoil someone else's baby.  I can't wait for us to have one of our own, however the Hubs has already put his foot down and said I am forbidden from blogging about it when the time comes! Booo... if only I hadn't forced him to subscribe to this blog so that I could have peace of mind in knowing I had at least on reader.  All I can say is that being surrounded by people with babies will eventually get to you.  I can spend hours looking at baby clothes and stuff, part of this is probably the result of my working in a baby boutique a few years back and just loving baby stuff!  We definitely need higher paying jobs before this family expands!  Intern year + baby sounds terrifying!  So, I think the wait continues...

Moving on... headed to my parents for a week to help them move into their FINALLY finished remodeled home... not sure if I will be able to post or not, but let's just hope I will.  Hope all is well with everyone!  Any moving tips or pointers that you'd like to share?!  Please do!

Blessings!

Update coming soon!

I know I need to write a new post... coming soon.  PROMISE!
-update on residency relocation
-babies
-who knows what else I will throw in