feminist blogs

Saw a new patient yesterday who apologized for bringing her three-year-old son to the appointment with her. He did pretty well; she brought a bunch of toys and a coloring book and a box of snacks, and she told him in advance that he could have the snacks when I came in the room, so he settled down with his crackers while we talked.  It’s never a surprise to me when kids start to wiggle or wander around during Mom’s exam. It’s hard to sit still when you’re three.  But it does still surprise me when mothers - whether they’re patients or friends - say the kind of thing this woman said to me:

I’m really sorry about him {child is doing nothing unusual, just climbing on and off the chair} My older one, she’s six, and she’s an angel. But he’s all boy. (more…)

…several commenters in the AMA thread mentioned drug costs, and Anna applauded one academic center’s banning of drug reps. Thanks for the segue, people! (more…)

I just created a new chart on my electronic medical record. I typed in the patient’s name, her date of birth and her phone number, and then I chose from the dropdown menus for sex and marital status. The blanks are automatically filled in, but this patient is a married woman so I had to change both, because the default option is male, single. And I can’t change the defaults.

Why do I have a feeling that the people who designed this program are male, single? It’s a small thing, but every time I create a new chart I am reminded that “female” is considered an aberrant state of being.

Live in the US? Uninsured? Underinsured? In the Medicare donut hole? Stuck in a job you hate because you need the benefits? Thank the AMA.

Medicare was proposed in the 1930s when Social Security was enacted. You may have noticed that Medicare didn’t actually exist until the 1960s.  That’s in large part because the AMA spent millions of dollars fighting it. Can’t have the government telling doctors what to do, or how much they can charge. It’s an article of faith with the AMA that doctors must be allowed to do their work without any pesky oversight at all.

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Jill suggested I write an introductory post and I’m generally an obedient sort, so…

No, not a good idea to start out by misrepresenting myself.  I’m not usually obedient. I am, however, a bit nervous about stepping onto this so-much-wider stage.

Deep breath.

OK, let’s try this again. I’m Jay, and I’ll be guest-blogging at Feministe this weekend and next.  I usually hang out over at Two Women Blogging, and Jill’s been kind enough to let me crash here while she’s out of town. The other woman at TWB is a real-life friend of mine who has her own blog at A Room of Mama’s Own.  I asked her to join me because I was too chicken to start out blogging by myself, and I had no idea what my blog would be “about”.

Turns out it’s not “about” anything in particular. I blog about whatever catches my attention at the moment, especially the topics and experiences that rouse my passions.  It appears that I’m passionate about feminism, parenting/family/relationships, and the practice of medicine.  I’m all about the relationship - relationships with my patients, my colleagues, my daughter, my family and with the larger world.

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