Recent news events have detailed the many humiliations and abuses, both verbal and physical, that women, and some men, have to endure in the workforce. It would not surprise me if some vascular surgeons admit that they have heard of similar instances of egregious behavior occurring in our workplaces. The people that have been impacted have predominantly been women and have come from all walks of life. They have been patients, colleagues, our employees or those of the many institutions in which we work. Unfortunately, the demands of our profession and the pace of our lives may diminish our relationships with these persons. This facelessness and disconnection may allow some surgeons to justify their poor behavior whereas others may not realize that they are negatively impacting these individuals’ lives. The fact that these injustices persist is made more upsetting because we are so indebted for all that these nurses, technologists, office personnel, and even patients, do for us.
Just think how much we owe the nurses on the hospital floors. It is to nurses that we entrust the postoperative care of our patients. They make sure to call us when they detect that a pulse is weakening or suddenly absent, or that a neck is expanding as a hematoma threatens breathing. They timely diagnose a retroperitoneal bleed that may endanger the patient’s life. Dialysis nurses notify us that a puncture looks like it may suddenly bleed out. Our patients’ lives are often entirely dependent on the astute observation of an accomplished nurse.
And what about the operating nurses and scrub technicians? They layout our surgical tray perfectly with all the tools that we are wont to use. They are there to assist when a sudden event requires the steady hand of an observant nurse who knows just what instrument we need without us having to ask. When you are in a difficult area, an encouraging word will often inspire the confidence required to accomplish a successful outcome. When a procedure is going poorly and tension mounts, their silence accepts our sometimes curt requests. There is a bond that develops between two professionals who recognize each other’s expertise.
Vascular technologists work tirelessly, often in darkened rooms, frequently under challenging positions straining eyes and limbs to detect pathology that maybe life or limb saving. Their diagnostic acumen can be the difference between a subsequent procedure’s success or failure. Indeed, the vascular surgeon has to make the final interpretation, but if the technologist fails to show the pathology, even the most erudite physician may miss the diagnosis.
Front-desk personnel who sit at check-in and check-out in an office are the face of our practice. Their friendly attitude welcomes our patients and reassures them that they have come to a well-run, professional workplace. A smiling, personal greeting will calm even the most worried patient. Of course, their attention to detail assures that collections will not be misplaced.
Our office nurses exude compassion for the many patients who face immense hurdles in living with vascular disease. They assist in teaching wound care, explain medications, and help in arranging social services. They cry with those that have recently lost a spouse or child and get excited to hear of the birth of a patient’s grandchild. Without their organizational skills, office hours would be interminable, and patients who are kept waiting would complain, or worse, leave the practice. They have learned to laugh at the same joke that they have heard us tell innumerable times, and to ignore the sometimes lousy mood we may bring into the office after a brutal night on call.
The spouses or significant others of our patients also play an important role since it is often from them that we get the most accurate history. They will ask to speak to us privately to make sure we do not cause despair when we discuss treatment options or to ensure that we firmly admonish their loved one to stop smoking, exercise or watch their weight. Unfortunately, they will sometimes have to accept a disparaging remark or gesture from their “spouse” to make sure that we are supplied all the necessary information to come to an appropriate diagnosis.
I can go on about other medical personnel that contributes to our success, but I believe I have made the point. The men and women with whom we interact as vascular surgeons deserve the same respect we grant ourselves. Any insult to them demeans not only the recipient but more so the abuser and those of us who stand by silently.
Finally, there are many female colleagues whose interest and drive has allowed them to not only break into but achieve leadership positions in a specialty that was almost uniformly male and unwelcoming. Their aptitudes and attitudes have broadened the specialty’s ability to help our patients. However, recently the news has been replete with evidence that women have been abused as they tried to enter other male-dominated professions and so it is likely that this has happened in ours.
Other recent news items suggest that these physical and emotional abuses are inflicted not only on women but also men. We may never know the scope of this mistreatment, but we must assure that it stops immediately.
Ethical behavior must be gender-neutral. Further, condescending attitudes, cruel language, and a lack of appreciation sometimes can be as damaging as physical or sexual abuse and must be abolished from our workplace. ■
