Essay by Isabelle Li

Our society is one that preaches diversity and inclusion, but when it comes to lifting unheard voices, the concerns of the underrepresented minority are cast aside with utter disregard. Today I do not speak for myself. I hope to break the silence of voices abandoned without hope and left in the dust. I speak for the ones society refuses to call their own, those whose lives have not been acknowledged. I speak for Jenneh Rishe, a registered nurse who flew halfway across the country just for her cardiologist to dismiss her life-threatening heart conditions. I write for Sarah Szcypinski, a proud mother whose hip dysplasia was labeled a weight problem. I grieve for Joyce Echaquan, who died screaming for medical help, despite her pulmonary edema being entirely preventable. I cry for the thousands of women whose forgotten narratives have been unaddressed and buried. 

The United States prides itself on being a beacon of equal promise and progress, yet its broken healthcare system says otherwise. As of 2019, women spend nearly $1,500 more than men on healthcare annually, but they repeatedly remain the victims of misdiagnosis, overmedication, and general medical neglect [1]. 

Medical gaslighting and gender bias are prominent issues in medicine, especially regarding women’s symptoms. Rather than simply pausing to listen, doctors will oftentimes dismiss very real medical cases of women as minor or psychosomatic. Even if symptoms are recognized, they are either misdiagnosed or blamed on external stress, weight, emotional problems, and moodiness. This sheer inattention from health professionals is completely demoralizing for women, and these physicians have failed them entirely as doctors. 

In the particular case of heart conditions, women are ignored to a disappointing degree. They must endure longer wait times for heart disease diagnosis and are seven times more likely to be misdiagnosed and discharged whilst undergoing a heart attack [2, 3]. Furthermore, heart attacks present differently in men and women. Men will display the usual symptoms: chest pain, aches, cold sweat, fatigue, heartburn, etc. These are the well-known and supposedly universal standards for heart attack symptoms. However, women do not have the same intense symptoms as men; a heart attack could simply be an uncomfortable pressure or shortness of breath. As a result, a greater proportion of women die from heart attacks each year, and it takes longer for doctors to identify the condition in them. Because women’s health is so trivialized, treatment and necessary medication is often delayed or foregone altogether. 

Discrimination is even more severe for women of color. These women already face racial marginalization, but the additional gender bias makes proper diagnosis and treatment seemingly impossible. As both an Asian American and woman of color, I am appalled by how our healthcare system has rendered an entire population of people invisible and irrelevant. After all, it is a basic principle that women should not be treated differently from men regardless of their gender, race, or symptoms.

Women are not passive individuals immune to pain, nor are they hormonal creatures at the mercy of their emotions. These blatant misconceptions may seem absurd but are evidence of how women are considered a medical mystery even today. Historically, scientific research has been conducted on predominantly male samples, excluding women from clinical trials. Despite recent legal improvements, there remains a critical gap in the knowledge of women’s health. Modern drug dosages and prescriptions have been designed for the male physiology, causing women to disproportionately face a high risk for overmedication and side effects. Furthermore, medical students are not trained to recognize the specific symptoms and signs present in women. Male bodies continue to be the medical standard, leaving students and physicians with no idea what to diagnose and treat when women’s symptoms don’t match what they have learned. This flawed education leaves a large percentage of women ignored and unrecognized. 

Because gender bias has been ingrained in our longstanding healthcare system, it is difficult to correct immediately. Nevertheless, awareness and concrete action are key to providing a solution. For one, more scientific research must be conducted on women’s health and the unique symptoms they present for diseases. Additionally, medical students must be trained to recognize and avoid unconscious bias. Ultimately, physicians and patients alike must strive for patient-centered care built around respect, validation, dignity, and support. It is time we fight for the equality and care women truly deserve. 

References: 

1. Singh, R. (2019, June 12). Visualizing health policy: Barriers to care experienced by women in the United States . KFF. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from 

https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/press-release/visualizing-health-policy-barrier s-to-care-experienced-by-women-in-the-united-states/ 

2. Moyer, M. W. (2022, March 28). Women are calling out 'medical gaslighting'. The New York Times. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/28/well/live/gaslighting-doctors-patients-health.html 3. Nabel, E. G., Hu, F. B., & Herrington, D. M. (2000, August 24). Coronary heart disease in women–an ounce of prevention: NEJM. New England Journal of Medicine. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200008243430809