Thread by @CaseySeidemanMD

I read "Day 1 - A world made for men." by @emmabgo.

Excellent piece, that made me recognize that I inhabit a subspecialized work world that is specifically designed for men.

A thread:

nytimes.com/programs/women…

Every time I need to put the cover on the sterile light-handles, I scan the room: “Hi, tall friend! Can you help me?”.

For those of us who work in the operating room (OR), it is immediately evident that the room was designed with a much taller person in mind… a man.

During five years of residency, I thought it was me, that I was too short or my hands were too small. I stood on step stools, and still experienced significant height mismatching.

Oftentimes, I would have hand pain and neck pain for days after a long surgery.

It took me five years to realize that it wasn’t my shortcomings 🤣, but rather, it was a room designed for somebody else.

I spend at least 50% of my working hours in the OR.

After 7 years of training, I arrived at my new job.

My bubble burst as I was told that there were not enough lockers in the women’s locker room.

And more jarring, there were no sterile surgical gloves in my size.

I had arrived for a job that was designed for a man.

There are laparoscopic instruments designed for large hands, that my small hands will never be able to handle.

Ergonomic chairs that my legs cannot touch the ground in.

Step stools that make me taller, or too tall when I try and match height with my residents.

The hospital asks to justify why I need “special” gloves, and “special” mechanized laparoscopic staplers.

Now I ask – when will hospitals, and medical device companies, consider that the surgeon they are designing around may not be a man?

#ILookLikeASurgeon #UroSoMe

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