All Full Up

I never realized how valuable a female GP would be in a city like Hamilton. With a population of about 160,000, I thought there would be plenty of female colleagues. I was wrong. Apparently it’s such a novelty that the neighbouring chemist placed a self-paid advertisement on the radio, unbeknownst to the clinic, just to notify of my presence. As a result, in my short stint at Dinsdale Medical Centre, there have been floods of patients wanting to transfer into the clinic simply because there’s a female GP (with some contribution to lower cost funding). Somehow, there’s a perception that the double X chromosome makes one more compassionate and caring. Not having seen my male counterparts work, I can’t really comment. What I can comment on is the amount of work that has followed my entrance. Not only did I inherit the patient panel from the last female GP at the clinic (admittedly a number of patients transferred out after her retirement), but also a good majority of the new patients coming in. I guess I should be flattered by the reputation I’ve obtained in such a short amount of time. Unfortunately, the workload has shadowed the compliment. So, in recognition, the clinic decided to close my books to new patients as of January 1st. Amazing to me that in only five months I’ve reached closed status. In an age of equal opportunity employment, I realize females rule the roost in this town, as far as doctors go. I suppose I should have asked for a raise.