Women are perhaps not necessarily the better people, even if, in view of world events driven by male despots, one is inclined to put that up for discussion. But women are definitely better doctors. Especially for women. (On average only, of course, there are also great male doctors.)
That this is true even for tough subjects like surgery was recently in the trade journal JAMA discussed. When a surgeon wields the scalpel, complications are less common than when a surgeon is at work. This is all the more true when women are under the scalpel, as an analysis of 1.3 million operations revealed: if a woman is operated on by a surgeon instead of a female surgeon, the probability that it will not end well increases, by a staggering 15 percent.
Doctors communicate better with their patients. This is how you learn more
There are a few ways to whitewash male surgeons’ coats: Male patients often have better insurance and therefore get better doctors, which reduces the complication rate. In addition, male doctors are higher in the hierarchy and therefore have to operate more often on the more difficult cases, which increases the complication rate. But all of these factors were eliminated in the study.
Indeed, it seems that female surgeons perform better because of their femininity. Because what still differentiates women and men is their communication. Doctors speak more intensively with their patients. They convey more security and they learn more. It is also known that doctors take patients less seriously, for example when they complain about pain. After an operation, pain is part of it, but it can also be a sign of complications. It is all the more important to encourage patients to talk and to listen to them. And finally, anesthetists, for example, report how much more collegial and open the atmosphere in the operating room is when a surgeon is in charge.
It is this feminine way of working that leads to better results. By the way, even when men work like that. Unfortunately, the better results often do not advance your career. That will only change when success is measured more honestly. Not with a beer after work. But through something as incorruptible as complication rates. And then the female way of working becomes attractive to everyone.