the medical stereotypes

[Flynn]

How is your spouse or partner (sorry med students!) similar to the stereotype of his/her speciality?

First, state the stereotype as you believe it to be true and say how your doc falls into that "rut" .

Then, tell us a way he/she is different from the stereotype!


My DH -- Cardio/Thoracic Surgeon

Stereotype--- Confidant to the point of untouchable, can be scary and intimidating, never lacks opinions, classic Type A to the Nth degree, LOVES heart surgery to the point of having a real problem balancing lifestyle issues


DH falls into all descriptions but is better than ever with a "team" approach at work. His people skills are awesome if you are smart and work hard, if not, watch out. :! He is 6'5" with a low booming voice too so that doesn't help in the "approachable" department. He's Type A at work but not so much at home. He IS VERY opinionated. When we were married I tried to maximize his time (he was working 110 hours a week for goodness sakes!) by checking out all the China/silver/crystal patterns -- picking my top 4 and letting him make the final decision. He didn't want my top 4 and wanted to see everything so he could make the best decision. :argue: Yeah, that went over REAL well.

Does not fall into stereotype:
DH is NOT like a typical CT surgeon because he desires balance in his life post training. He has no desire to publish or do talks in addition to his clinical duties. He really wants to commit a large portion of his life to his family.

[DCJenn]

My husband:

Child Neurologist:
Not as wacky as the adult neurologists, at least compared to the people that I've worked with, but come on, no one that works with the brain on purpose is completely normal.

Like pediatricians, the child neurologist relates better to kids than adults (at least the ones I've met). The brain is a big giant puzzle and they like all of the tools to take a peek at their disposal. They're big into medical gadgetry but don't actually use the equipment, they just order the tests.

The downside- too much knowledge causes them to be hyperaware of every jerk, tic, involuntary movement that anyone makes.

Generally speaking they're all pathologically shy, or pathologically sociable. Or just pathologic.

Jenn

A nice transition to the Pathologist:

Sterotype: Foreign, uber-smart, bookish, anti-social, HATES clinical work

My dh: Uber-smart, foreign (but only by technicality and really bad first name for living in the US. He moved here when he was one and is very NOT FOB).

He's social and friendly if he finds you interesting (which doesn't mean you have to be smart). If not, then he doesn't really bother. He's horrible at interpersonal stuff: talking on the phone, staying in touch with friends after moving away. Mine also likes clinical work (to an extent) so selected the only sub-specialty of Path that allows for patient contact (Transfusion Medicine).

[Gwendolyn]

So...Ophthalmology.

From the opthotypes I've met. They are all nice, but extra nerdy. (wear short sleeved dress shirts). There is a heavy research component and it shows. It is also very competitive, so they are all very smart, did well on step 1 and got excellent grades in MS...this leads to a silent competitive streak. ("we can play nice as long as I am the best at it") Not as openly competitive as other surgery specialties, but still competitive. They are also a fairly laidback bunch. They do surgery sitting down. They like immediate gratification. You see the results of surgery in a few days.

DH is not into the research component, but is super nerdy. He makes Star Trek references on a regular basis. At least he doesn't listen to accordion music in his car ;like another resident. Everything else applies...Dh has a football player build, which sometimes gets him mistaken for ortho, but he belongs with the ophthos

We are still new to the ophtho world, so others who know, feel free to jump in

[Rapunzel]

Radiologist

Stereotype:
The nerd that lives in the basement. Better at getting along with computers and film images than with people. Not a "real" doctor because of the lack of patient interaction. Boring - and maybe just a little bit weird (from living in the basement). Chose radiology for one of two reasons: Either 1)hates patients or 2)wants to spend tons of time with family and still get paid like it's nobody's business.

How he fits the stereotype:
Nerd? Check.
Lives in the hospital basement? Check.
Better at getting along with computers than with people? Sometimes.
Chose this field partially because of choice number 2.

How he does NOT fit the stereotype:
He's definitely got a personailty! Most of the people who first meet him see him as quiet and reserved. Once they get to know him they get to see all the funny films he's made and the special effects shots he works on for fun. He also does hilarious dead-on impressions of anyone - anyone - he meets. He has an incredible ability to alter his voice in pitch, tone, and accent. He also loves playing - anything.
Chose this field partially because he is the uber-techno-geek.
Now, for the above two reasons plus the fact that he loves spending time with his family some might consider him boring. But, the people who know him well realize he's anything but.

[Auspicious]

A nice transition to the Pathologist:

Sterotype: Foreign, uber-smart, bookish, anti-social, HATES clinical work

I was wondering what you'd say the path stereotype is. (What's FOB?)

Mine is: foreign? No
Uber-smart? Was voted "Most Intellectual" in his high school senior class, despite not being even in the upper third of the class academically (he was one of those smart-but-messed-up kids). . . I confess I'm often in trouble in my marriage for being the only person who doesn't think he's really smart, or underestimates his smarts, or whatever. I'm probably not the best person to answer this one. (I know he's smart but I think people get themselves in trouble when they forget that there's always someone smarter out there, so it makes me nervous when people start telling him how smart they think he is, you know? I'm working on it.)
Bookish? Yes, definitely. Scholarly, reliant on formal knowledge, has a lot of respect for learnedness, all that. And as a subset of that I would say that I always describe him as very "science-y" and as a subset of that I would say his mind breaks just about every problem down to the cellular and molecular level.
anti-social? Nah. A little more introverted than extroverted, but he likes people and relates well to them.
HATES clinical work? No, he likes it. And he's good at it. But he doesn't feel like he has to do it.

I don't know enough pathologists to know how he compares to that group, but I will say I'm pretty sure he's way more laid-back than the average med student. I admire how balanced he is.

FOB = Fresh Off the Boat

In my dh's residency program he was one of 2 American grads when he started, the other 9 being a mix of Chinese, Korean, Indian, and Pakistani.

He was also almost "undereducated" ... he was one of 3 that was not MD/PhD ... just a lowly MD.

On the ubersmart thing -- I'm with Julie about keeping it in check. Lots of other people always defer to him on the smarts thing, but I give him heck and keep him in line.

[mommax3]

I don't really know an OB/Gyn stereotype, other than the snotty one that gynecologists are poor excuses for surgeons, which I don't really know how to answer.....somebody help me out with the stereotype and then I will let you know how DH fits.

Sally

[Laker]

I don't really know the rad onc stereotype.

I would say they are smart, very interested in hard science (radiation biology/physics), like to balance lifestyle and work, and are usually packed away in the basement.

I would say DW is smart and outgoing, however isn't totally type A. She likes her patients and her "my time" so rad onc is a great fit.

[PrincessFiona]

Re: the medical stereotypes

OK...I'm a little uncertain about the ID doc stereotype, but I'll give it a go as best I can. If anyone can add to my stereotypes then I'll modify my post accordingly.


My DH -- Infectious Disease

Stereotype--- Confidant to the point of untouchable, opinionated, basic research-oriented to the point of being geeky, enjoys challenging cases.


DH definitely falls into the arrogant category. On more than one occasioned he has "joked" "ah, yes, there is God, Jesus...and then me..not necessarily in that order" again, for emphasis----> Though he says he's joking, there is a part of him that I think sort of...believes it

He's very opinionated and he reads his medical journals from cover-to-cover and has them in his shelves in the order in which they were published and his favorite cases are, indeed, the ones where someone has something really bizarre and oftentimes incurable. This is when he will say "I saw this fabulous case today........" and when I ask about the patients chances he'll say "oh...she's going to die...but...it's just so interesting...you should see it". Ummm...ok.....

Does not fall into stereotype:
He has no interest in doing basic-science-research or publishing after what he describes as his lab 'ordeal'. He would much rather have some sort of teaching position (which would fit in nicely with the God complex, I think! :> ).

He also refuses to go to work before...well...9am :! unless it's an emergency. He's more than willing to work later, but the hospital doesn't even call him now (again, unless it's an emergency) before 9am. He collects his pages and then goes in when he has organized a schedule for himself. He believes in 'efficiency' and not 'wasting time'. "Why would I go in to see one consult, then sit around and drink coffee while I wait for the next consult...or run from floor to floor when I could see several patients at one time if I just take time and organize my consults".

:!

[Vanquisher]

Re: the medical stereotypes

My DH -- Orthopaedic Surgeon

Stereotype--- Jocks and ex-athletes. Once upon a time they were considered big and dumb with knuckles dragging on the floor(now you have to be smart). Cocky. Good with your hands. Strong. Likes to fix broken stuff. Likes carpentry. Doesn't like sick people. Doesn't like medicine. One track mind, bones only. Outgoing. Pretty laid back as surgeons go.

What is the definition of a double-blind study? Two orthopods reading an EKG.


Chad likes sports and used to be athletic, but residency and fatherhood has beat it out of him. This is something we would both like to get back into. He is very smart. It's annoying. He is confident, but I wouldn't say cocky. He is good with his hands - they are really strange hands. He can spread his index finger and middle finger far enough apart to place over an octave on the piano with those two fingers. He plays piano and guitar. Average as far as build and strength. He does like to fix broken stuff and does like carpentry. He isn't fond of medicine, but he does remember it and knows what he is doing. He often gets jabbed at by other orthopods for checking "medicine" things. The only rotation besides orthopaedics that he honored in his clinicals was medicine. He is very outgoing and generally a friend to everyone. Everyone likes him. I sometimes get jealous of this, because I want everyone to like me as much as everyone likes him. He is very laid-back, very even keel.

[SueC]

Is there a pulm/CC stereotype Luanne?
I'm not sure if there is one, but dh seems to have a lot in common with the rest of the group. They all have an incredibly crass sense of humor, but they also seem to be a very cohesive bunch. I can think of a few times where one of them has has some crisis or another (sick spouse, pregnancy) and nobody bats an eyelash about increasing their workload to cover. As the spouse, I also don't mind, because I can think of at least a few times when we've been the ones that needed covering.
My sister knew a group of pulmonologists in another city and said they were all extremely boring, so I don't know if my dh just lucked out or if his group would fit the stereotype.

[PrincessFiona]

I don't really know an OB/Gyn stereotype, other than the snotty one that gynecologists are poor excuses for surgeons, which I don't really know how to answer.....somebody help me out with the stereotype and then I will let you know how DH fits.

Sally

Poor excuses for surgeons? Well...maybe some surgeons think that? But...OB/Gyns are trained in specific surgeries that they do repeatedly...and I'd much rather have an OB who has performed hundreds/thousands of c-sections perform my surgery...as opposed to a general surgeon who has performed perhaps a handful.

Just my opinion.

kris

[rainbabies]

[mommax3]

Yeah, that is where it has always come from when DH has heard it, too, from surgeons.....not all surgeons, though. He really hasn't run into it since med school, actually, but that is the only OB/Gyn stereotype I have heard.....anyone have any others?

Sally