SINGAPORE: A local Reddit user said that she noticed that male doctors are “generally more caring” than female doctors in Singapore, and wanted to know if others on the platform felt the same way.
In a post from earlier this week on r/askSingapore, the post author wrote that based on her experience, “male doctors are super caring and attentive to patients’ concerns,” as they explain “everything in detail and clarify all our doubts before we leave.”
In contrast, she finds female doctors to be more professional and “followed a protocol approach from A to B to C to D,” after which consultations ended pretty quickly.
She wondered, however, if others have had the same experience as she has, adding “maybe because I am female, that’s why I can feel a difference, not entirely sure.”
Other Reddit users have had mixed answers to her post, with some having the opposite experience and finding that female doctors are more caring than male doctors.
Many said that how doctors treat their patients may depend on their individual personalities.
“I think it depends. My family doctor is female, and she really asks a lot of questions and does not rush through a consultation for the sake of earning more profits. However, I also encountered my share of female doctors who lack empathy and care,” wrote one.
“Male doctors had ‘better bedside manners, ‘ but I find female doctors more professional and less dismissive. I had been having a nagging cough for months with no other cold symptoms, and the male doctors just kept prescribing cough medicines and jollying me along with anecdotes and questions about how stressful my life is. All I came away with is the feeling they thought I was scamming MCs and was willing to wink at it.
It took a female doctor to order a chest scan and figure out it was a cardiac cough and needed real medical intervention,” shared another.
A Reddit user also agreed, writing, “Not at all. It’s a mix. I’ve met indifferent or very helpful doctors of both genders. But speaking as a woman, I’ve also found female doctors to take me more seriously when I tell them general symptoms and be more willing to refer me for further diagnostic testing.”
For one commenter, meanwhile, it boils down to the luck of the draw. “Nothing to do with gender, it’s just luck. I’ve met nonchalant male doctors and caring female doctors, and vice-versa.” /TISG
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