Gay-friendly medical/surgical specialties?

[277768]

What are gay friendly medical specialties besides psychiatry?

I hear surgery is very conservative in culture, but that is just hearsay.

Are they mostly confined to big, gay-mecca-ish liberal cities like SF, NYC, Boston, and Seattle?

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[FractureFixer]

Nursing.

 

[camo]

Nursing.

- ROFLMAO

.

 

[The Angriest Bird]

Please, for the love of God, don't turn this thread into an anti-gay one.

OP has a legitimate question, either answer it with your best knowledge or leave him alone.

 

[camo]

SOrry sorry, not trying to start anything. OP do not even answer my question.


As far as your question goes, I have no earthly idea.

 

[The Angriest Bird]

To OP:

Medicine, in general, is very conservative in general. Revealing your status as a gay man will undoubtedly trigger huge stigma/prejudice in any specialty at any institution. And I have never heard that psychiatry is more gay-friendly than other specialties.

 

[FractureFixer]

To OP:

Medicine, in general, is very conservative in general. Revealing your status as a gay man will undoubtedly trigger huge stigma/prejudice in any specialty at any institution. And I have never heard that psychiatry is more gay-friendly than other specialties.

Please stop being sexist. The op never said he was a guy. gay applies to both men AND woman. Please do not turn this thread into a MEN only thread. Women are humans too.

 

[The Angriest Bird]

Please stop being sexist. The op never said he was a guy. gay applies to both men AND woman. We do not need your immature behavior in this forum.

Illuminate me please.

A homosexual woman is LESBIAN you English illiterate

 

[FractureFixer]

Illuminate me please.

A homosexual woman is LESBIAN you English illiterate

It would take too much to illuminate you. Why don't you just come out of the closet.

So then the laws about "gay" marriage only applied to men then right?? GET A CLUE!

 

[smq123]

What are gay friendly medical specialties besides psychiatry?

I hear surgery is very conservative in culture, but that is just hearsay.

Are they mostly confined to big, gay-mecca-ish liberal cities like SF, NYC, Boston, and Seattle?

Family Med
Peds
Internal Med
Emergency Med
Anesthesia
Ophtho
Probably rad onc, radiology, derm

Surgery IS somewhat more conservative, although that should certainly not stop you if you really enjoy surgery.

If you are a gay male (and some women use the word "gay" to describe themselves as lesbians), then OB/gyn would probably be friendly to you. It may be the one field where being a gay male is actually a real advantage.

 

[Rendar5]

It would take too much to illuminate you. Why don't you just come out of the closet.

So then the laws about "gay" marriage only applied to men then right?? GET A CLUE!

what's with the attitude? you give a wise-ass stereotyped answer, then get snippy when someone else gives a non-wise-ass stereotyped answer in trying to honestly answer the OP?

To the OP:
when little asian girls are doing ortho, it means that while prejudice may exist, there's more than enough people going against pre-conceived notions of specialties to make it easy to do whatever you'd like to do. You'll deal with open and closeted bigots wherever you go, but mostly you'll deal with non-bigots nowadays in all fields (at least in the NE, I don't know the residency cultures outside my area)

 

[ThirdEye]

Please stop being sexist. The op never said he was a guy. gay applies to both men AND woman. Please do not turn this thread into a MEN only thread. Women are humans too.

The OP's screen name and avatar easily implies he's a he. Women are humans too, yes, but sometimes a bit too irrational.

 

[sunset823]

The OP's screen name and avatar easily implies he's a he. Women are humans too, yes, but sometimes a bit too irrational.

As additional evidence, if you click on the OP's MDApps, it clearly says he is male. There should be no arguing about being a gay man or woman here.

To the OP, I would say the culture of an institution is based more on the specific institution and location than on the specialty. I've been doing a lot of research on women in academic medicine, and they still have a tough time of it in some specialties (e.g., neurosurgery), but for example, at UMich we have the first female chair of neurosurgery in the country (and married with kids, to boot). Ann Arbor is also a very gay-friendly city. So, pursue whatever specialty you like but try to choose locations that tend to be more liberal - it seems that the more prestigious universities, and research oriented 'college towns' are also more open to alternative lifestyles. (I know the dean of Duke Med is now a woman, Nancy Andrews, so though it's in conservative NC, the culture of the institution may change).

Also, though I don't condone this, being gay is relatively easy to hide. Being female, not so much.

 

[Samus Aran]

ok guys and gals, there was a miscommunication but i think it's cleared up and there's no need to harp on the issue further.

to the op, what makes you say psychiatry? i've never heard of one specialty being more gay-friendly than another. imo, your sexual orientation has little to do with what specialty you might be best suited for. what a physician does in his private life has, for the most part, nothing to do with their aptitude for or their ability to excell in a certain specialty. i know that in the real world, there are people that will judge others based on their race, orientation, etc, but i would really hope you nor anyone else would be discouraged from pursuing a specialty just because it isn't historically "gay-friendly."

 

[njbmd]

What are gay friendly medical specialties besides psychiatry?

I hear surgery is very conservative in culture, but that is just hearsay.

Are they mostly confined to big, gay-mecca-ish liberal cities like SF, NYC, Boston, and Seattle?

There are no "gay-friendly" or "gay-unfriendly" specialties out there same as there are no racial-group friendly or unfriendly specialties out there. When you choose a specialty, you choose the specialty that you are competitive for (don't bother loving derm, rads, ortho or opthalo unless you are at the top of your class); that you love and can do for the rest of your life. You then apply to programs in said specialty that you are interested in in terms of location.

It's wonderful that you have come to terms with your sexuality but the identification of pathology and it's treatment could care less of you are gay, straight or asexual. Yes, larger cities tend to be more tolerant of lifestyle but don't count out every smaller program in a rural area. Your patients are going to be more interested in how you do your job rather than your sexuality and of course, gay folks, transgendered folks and bisexual folks are everywhere.

You can take the "friendly" versus "non-friendly" out of this equation. It's going to come down to what you are competitive for (based on grades, ranking and Step I) and then what you like. Leave your sexuality home as it has no bearing here. BTW: The chair of surgery at a major program is openly gay and no, it's not in SF, NY, Boston or Seattle.

 

[turkeyjerky]

There are no "gay-friendly" or "gay-unfriendly" specialties out there same as there are no racial-group friendly or unfriendly specialties out there. When you choose a specialty, you choose the specialty that you are competitive for (don't bother loving derm, rads, ortho or opthalo unless you are at the top of your class); that you love and can do for the rest of your life. You then apply to programs in said specialty that you are interested in in terms of location.

It's wonderful that you have come to terms with your sexuality but the identification of pathology and it's treatment could care less of you are gay, straight or asexual. Yes, larger cities tend to be more tolerant of lifestyle but don't count out every smaller program in a rural area. Your patients are going to be more interested in how you do your job rather than your sexuality and of course, gay folks, transgendered folks and bisexual folks are everywhere.

You can take the "friendly" versus "non-friendly" out of this equation. It's going to come down to what you are competitive for (based on grades, ranking and Step I) and then what you like. Leave your sexuality home as it has no bearing here. BTW: The chair of surgery at a major program is openly gay and no, it's not in SF, NY, Boston or Seattle.

Thank you!

What a ridiculous thread

 

[smq123]

You can take the "friendly" versus "non-friendly" out of this equation. It's going to come down to what you are competitive for (based on grades, ranking and Step I) and then what you like. Leave your sexuality home as it has no bearing here. BTW: The chair of surgery at a major program is openly gay and no, it's not in SF, NY, Boston or Seattle.

Thank you!

What a ridiculous thread

To be honest, I CAN see the OP's point.

My best friend is a gay surgery resident in a program that is located in a large, traditionally liberal city.

He doesn't tell people that he's gay, and he doesn't come across as being obviously gay, either. He knew that he might have a few problems being in a traditionally conservative field, but I think it still aggravates him nonetheless.

He's heard people throw around gay jokes in his presence, and ask him, "You're not a ***, right? Thank God!". (He's also gotten that question, with significantly more vulgar words in place of "***.") His worst experience, though, was being scrubbed into a long case with a scrub tech who (with good intentions) kept badgering him to go on a date with her niece.

Would all this stop if he were openly gay? Maybe....maybe not. I don't think he's particularly anxious to find out, though. The last thing he needs (or wants) as a resident is to be hassled for his sexual orientation.

Is this the case everywhere? No, almost definitely not. Do I understand the OP's concerns? Sure, absolutely.

 

[smq123]

imo, your sexual orientation has little to do with what specialty you might be best suited for. what a physician does in his private life has, for the most part, nothing to do with their aptitude for or their ability to excell in a certain specialty.

Come on - the OP isn't asking what specialty his sexual orientation would make him best "suited" for. That's kind of a weird interpretation of the initial post. I've never met a gay person who thought that his/her sexual orientation gave them special super-human powers.

(Although imagine the possibilities if you had X-ray vision. Surgery and rad onc programs would be falling over themselves to recruit you. )

The question is more about which specialties he can practice that would allow him to feel comfortable enough that he can talk about his personal life without reservations. Since you spend so much time with your fellow residents (as opposed to even your own family), I can see where the worries would come in.

i would really hope you nor anyone else would be discouraged from pursuing a specialty just because it isn't historically "gay-friendly."

I do agree with this, however.

 

[DLY303]

I think the OP's concern is very valid. Have some of you never been exposed to homophobia? That said, it is people that are homophobic, not any particular speciality (at least, in my opinion). Discrimination is a concern I think. Imagine getting into a program and having to deal with a bigot for the duration of the program. My dentist, who is an openly gay man, has told me in the past that a couple of people made dental school four years of "living hell" for him (and that he even contemplated suicide). Of course, he went to DS twenty years ago. I would *hope* times have changed at least somewhat.

The thing that surprises me the most is that, in my experience, it is often the people that should know better that are the worst (hence I am not so sure Psychiatry is any better than anything else). Having taken numerous Psychology courses in undergrad, I have encountered some absolutely raging homophobes (FYI- I am a straight female, not a gay man, LOL). Some of the things I have heard said in class just stun me. Granted, the topic comes up more in Psych classes because of the DSM, etc...

 

[Samus Aran]

Come on - the OP isn't asking what specialty his sexual orientation would make him best "suited" for. That's kind of a weird interpretation of the initial post. I've never met a gay person who thought that his/her sexual orientation gave them special super-human powers.

yeah i realized after i wrote it that it came off that way, i definitely used a poor choice of words

@ gay super-human powers

 

[username456789]

I've spent the summer working with an Orthpaedic trauma team. One of the first things my supervising physician told me was "Whatever you do, never make a gay joke in the OR. The chances that someone in the OR with you is gay is probably greater than 50%. I had one student make a gay joke once, and I had to take him aside and explain to him that out of the 7 or 8 of us in there, he and I were the only straight ones."

This was talking about nursing and tech staff as well, and I really don't know how many - if any - of the physicians/residents are gay, but it absolutely is an environment accepting of gay people . . . perhaps in one of the least likely places.

 

[turkeyjerky]

To be honest, I CAN see the OP's point.

My best friend is a gay surgery resident in a program that is located in a large, traditionally liberal city.

He doesn't tell people that he's gay, and he doesn't come across as being obviously gay, either. He knew that he might have a few problems being in a traditionally conservative field, but I think it still aggravates him nonetheless.

He's heard people throw around gay jokes in his presence, and ask him, "You're not a ***, right? Thank God!". (He's also gotten that question, with significantly more vulgar words in place of "***.") His worst experience, though, was being scrubbed into a long case with a scrub tech who (with good intentions) kept badgering him to go on a date with her niece.

Would all this stop if he were openly gay? Maybe....maybe not. I don't think he's particularly anxious to find out, though. The last thing he needs (or wants) as a resident is to be hassled for his sexual orientation.

Is this the case everywhere? No, almost definitely not. Do I understand the OP's concerns? Sure, absolutely.

Sounds like a terrible experience for anyone, lol.

I get your point, but it would be more suitable if the OP's question was, "Is so-and-so [insert name of specific residency program that he's interested in] unfriendly towards gays?" I willing to believe that there are likely some specific programs that aren't gay-friendly, but whole specialities? Get real. This over-identificiation might work when you're living on-campus during undergrad, but the OP needs to grow up.

Fact of the matter, the defacto position of the vast majority of medical institutions is that of strong anti-discrimination (with good reason). Are there some bigots out there? Sure, but there are everywhere. But if they let it out publicly, and someone complains, it will get shut down. Moreover, if it became known that someone in the program was gay, other people would probably soon put a stop to it through informal social condemnation (it's remarably easy to get someon to stop telling jokes simply by not laughing).

 

[OnDemond]

What are gay friendly medical specialties besides psychiatry?

I hear surgery is very conservative in culture, but that is just hearsay.

Are they mostly confined to big, gay-mecca-ish liberal cities like SF, NYC, Boston, and Seattle?

You can go into surgery and practice in a conservative city and still be gay. You can even let your colleagues know, just don't make a big deal out of it. Seriously, as long as you don't proclaim your sexual preferences to the world (heck, I don't proclaim to the world that I'm "straight") you'll do fine in the most conservative areas. Really. There are more conservatives doctors than you think.

The only places you shouldn't live are places with REAL closed minded people who don't like anyone who is like them. But then again, close-minded people who don't like homosexual people don't usually go into medicine, right?

 

[OnDemond]

There are no "gay-friendly" or "gay-unfriendly" specialties out there same as there are no racial-group friendly or unfriendly specialties out there. When you choose a specialty, you choose the specialty that you are competitive for (don't bother loving derm, rads, ortho or opthalo unless you are at the top of your class); that you love and can do for the rest of your life. You then apply to programs in said specialty that you are interested in in terms of location.

It's wonderful that you have come to terms with your sexuality but the identification of pathology and it's treatment could care less of you are gay, straight or asexual. Yes, larger cities tend to be more tolerant of lifestyle but don't count out every smaller program in a rural area. Your patients are going to be more interested in how you do your job rather than your sexuality and of course, gay folks, transgendered folks and bisexual folks are everywhere.

You can take the "friendly" versus "non-friendly" out of this equation. It's going to come down to what you are competitive for (based on grades, ranking and Step I) and then what you like. Leave your sexuality home as it has no bearing here. BTW: The chair of surgery at a major program is openly gay and no, it's not in SF, NY, Boston or Seattle.

Good post. All this gay stuff is really blown out of proportion. Your personal life should have nothing to do with your professional life, no matter how much your profession involves treating humans. Insimuating that certain specialties or mainstream city are not "gay-friendly" is a bit insulting, to be honest.

 

[OnDemond]

To be honest, I CAN see the OP's point.

My best friend is a gay surgery resident in a program that is located in a large, traditionally liberal city.

He doesn't tell people that he's gay, and he doesn't come across as being obviously gay, either. He knew that he might have a few problems being in a traditionally conservative field, but I think it still aggravates him nonetheless.

He's heard people throw around gay jokes in his presence, and ask him, "You're not a ***, right? Thank God!". (He's also gotten that question, with significantly more vulgar words in place of "***.") His worst experience, though, was being scrubbed into a long case with a scrub tech who (with good intentions) kept badgering him to go on a date with her niece.

Would all this stop if he were openly gay? Maybe....maybe not. I don't think he's particularly anxious to find out, though. The last thing he needs (or wants) as a resident is to be hassled for his sexual orientation.

Is this the case everywhere? No, almost definitely not. Do I understand the OP's concerns? Sure, absolutely.

In your best friend's case, the appropiate action for him to take would be to take each of his colleagues aside in private and tell them "listen, I'm gay. I don't want this interfering with my proffesional life, but it hurts me when you make fun of gays the way you do." That will do the trick and you won't breach your relationship with your colleagues.

That being said, calling gay people "fags" is really offensive (whether or not a gay guy/gal is in the room). Makes me cringe every time I hear it.

I know that it's frustrating to be different - when my friends offer me food or to participate in Saturday activities, I always must tell them that I am forbidden to as a Jew. I don't mind peaople telling Jew jokes when I'm not around (some of the projected stereotypes are true, some aren't), but I would feel bad if they were told in my presence. Then again, being Jewish is way more obvious than being gay.

 

[WellWornLad]

In your best friend's case, the appropiate action for him to take would be to take each of his colleagues aside in private and tell them "listen, I'm gay. I don't want this interfering with my proffesional life, but it hurts me when you make fun of gays the way you do." That will do the trick and you won't breach your relationship with your colleagues.

That sounds like an awful idea, in my opinion. Some people don't want to broadcast their personal lives to each of their colleagues - not because they're ashamed or scared, but because it shouldn't have any bearing on the job. If you're offended by anti-gay remarks, tell people that it's not appropriate. You don't need to be gay to be offended. That seems more productive to me than pouring out your personal life unsolicited to everyone you know.

 

[smq123]

In your best friend's case, the appropiate action for him to take would be to take each of his colleagues aside in private and tell them "listen, I'm gay. I don't want this interfering with my proffesional life, but it hurts me when you make fun of gays the way you do." That will do the trick and you won't breach your relationship with your colleagues.

This is a terrible idea. What, he should go around to each of his fellow residents and say this? Each of the incoming fellows? Each of the incoming interns?

And if the jokes don't stop, THEN what? He just gets a reputation for being "sensitive" with feelings that are easily hurt. Not good for a surgery resident.

 

[OnDemond]

That sounds like an awful idea, in my opinion. Some people don't want to broadcast their personal lives to each of their colleagues - not because they're ashamed or scared, but because it shouldn't have any bearing on the job. If you're offended by anti-gay remarks, tell people that it's not appropriate. You don't need to be gay to be offended. That seems more productive to me than pouring out your personal life unsolicited to everyone you know.

This is a terrible idea. What, he should go around to each of his fellow residents and say this? Each of the incoming fellows? Each of the incoming interns?

And if the jokes don't stop, THEN what? He just gets a reputation for being "sensitive" with feelings that are easily hurt. Not good for a surgery resident.

You got good points there.

I try to give people the benifit of the doubt, but that's not always reality. OR isn't kindergarten, and occasionally you do have that SOB who dosn't give a rat's behind to his or her colleagues.

 

[masterofmonkeys]

ok at the risk of sounding ridiculous, I have seen more 'obviously' gay people in psychiatry than in other specialties. I really do happen to think that psych is more gay-friendly than others. I'm psych though, so that's my greatest exposure.

That said, overt hostility to gay people in any specialty isnt' something i've seen (even hailing from Oklahoma as I do).

Also, Rosa Parks dude.

If you pick a specialty based on what's 'gay friendly', you're basically not being true to yourself. Stupid reason to pick a career path. Do what you love. end of story.

 

[Cerberus]

I think pretty much all medical specialties are gay neutral. A specialty itself probably doesn't give a damn how you get your rocks off. Just be competant at what you do and you'll do well.

 

[lilzelda2]

I think it has to do more with individual programs than specialty, but I'm just a 4th yr medical student.

I do understand where the OP is coming from, its so stupid to say the only thing you have to focus on is medicine. When your spending 60-80hrs a week with the same group of people you talk about things other than medicine. People talk about their families/boyfreind/girlfriend alot during daily interaction and if your gay and in a homophobic environment then your going to be placed in a sticky situation.

On my psych rotation my attending and I formed a very good relationship. I remeber one day we were talking and he turned to me and said its important for u to get married, have a family, and have fun. He went on an on about me having to find the right guy for a good atleast 10 mins. It was the most uncomfortable moment of third year for me because I'm gay. I end up just smiling and nodding. I didn't feel comfortable saying anything because at the end of the rotation I wanted a good eval and rec from him, didn't want to hurt my chances.

 

[TexasFight]

I've spent the summer working with an Orthpaedic trauma team. One of the first things my supervising physician told me was "Whatever you do, never make a gay joke in the OR. The chances that someone in the OR with you is gay is probably greater than 50%. I had one student make a gay joke once, and I had to take him aside and explain to him that out of the 7 or 8 of us in there, he and I were the only straight ones."

This was talking about nursing and tech staff as well, and I really don't know how many - if any - of the physicians/residents are gay, but it absolutely is an environment accepting of gay people . . . perhaps in one of the least likely places.

Haha that's kind of funny. When I was volunteering in PACU in HS, an anesthesia assistant pulled me into a few cases and for some reason he told me all the relationships that were going on between the OR staff members. Some of the relationships were surprising, including finding out how many people I thought were straight the whole summer were actually gay.

He also told me that half the surgeons were divorced, or were in the process of a divorce.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

I don't know about "gay-friendly", but here are two possibilities:

1. OB/GYN - since its all chicks, you'll have no insecure dudes around talking ****, and every girl likes having gay friends. Its the only guys they know that don't want to have sex with them. Unless they're ugly, but we don't count them.

2. Internal medicine - everyone is antisocial, so nobody is likely to ever know enough about you to judge you for anything

 

[VoiceofReason]

anecdotally the only place i've seen obviously gay mannerisms is psych.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

This is a terrible idea. What, he should go around to each of his fellow residents and say this? Each of the incoming fellows? Each of the incoming interns?

And if the jokes don't stop, THEN what? He just gets a reputation for being "sensitive" with feelings that are easily hurt. Not good for a surgery resident.

Agreed. Of course I wouldn't expect a particularly sensitive response to this issue from someone who has "protect marriage" as his avatar.

I'm with the op -- I think it is a legitimate issue. You want to be a program where you're comfortable being yourself, and that includes talking about things like politics, religion and your romantic life. I can say that I found rotating through surgery here in the Bible Belt fairly uncomfortable as a straight female, and I'm thinking I would have found it even worse had I not been straight. But I don't know how surgery goes in other locations and in bigger programs -- if you have enough residents, it seems like you're likely to have more diversity. I suspect ortho here would be hell, but I don't know.

So if you're here in the sticks, doing psych, fm, im, etc. probably would make your life easier. Ob/gyn here is pretty conservative, so I don't know how accepting it would be. But maybe surgery is OK is some less sticks-like place, maybe even Dallas or Houston?

 

[dantt]

curious that nobody mentioned ob/gyn

seriously

 

[Blesbok]

Just based on what I have seen I would say psych, neuro, and ob/gyn.

Or...any program in the country that has trouble filling spots.

 

[cfdavid]

As a heterosexual guy, I can say that how you conduct yourself and how you do your job is what counts. I don't think sexual orientation is a really big deal.

UNLESS, you're the type of gay guy that is flamboyant, talks with a fake lisp, that kind of thing.... Seriously. Most hetero dudes, in my experience, really aren't that intolerant of homosexuals. It's just the flamboyant, over-the-top gay males that are bothersome to even the most tolerant of people. Then again, I suspect that's the overwhelming minority of gay guys anyway.

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

As a heterosexual guy, I can say that how you conduct yourself and how you do your job is what counts. I don't think sexual orientation is a really big deal.

UNLESS, you're the type of gay guy that is flamboyant, talks with a fake lisp, that kind of thing.... Seriously. Most hetero dudes, in my experience, really aren't that intolerant of homosexuals. It's just the flamboyant, over-the-top gay males that are bothersome to even the most tolerant of people. Then again, I suspect that's the overwhelming minority of gay guys anyway.

I agree. It's the over-the-top flamboyance that begs to be mocked, not the orientation.

 

[McQueen]

As a heterosexual guy, I can say that how you conduct yourself and how you do your job is what counts. I don't think sexual orientation is a really big deal.

UNLESS, you're the type of gay guy that is flamboyant, talks with a fake lisp, that kind of thing.... Seriously. Most hetero dudes, in my experience, really aren't that intolerant of homosexuals. It's just the flamboyant, over-the-top gay males that are bothersome to even the most tolerant of people. Then again, I suspect that's the overwhelming minority of gay guys anyway.

This statement is designed to use the semblance of tolerance to voice homophobic stereotypes without impunity. What it manages to expose, however, is idiocy of the highest sort. The so-called "flamboyant" guys are the ones who've advanced the gay cause by shouldering the brunt of anti-gay attacks. Stop promoting stupid stereotypes.

 

[FractureFixer]

This statement is designed to use the semblance of tolerance to voice homophobic stereotypes without impunity. What it manages to expose, however, is idiocy of the highest sort. The so-called "flamboyant" guys are the ones who've advanced the gay cause by shouldering the brunt of anti-gay attacks. Stop promoting stupid stereotypes.

Its funny that this user is talking about tolerance.....this user, unprovoked by me, sent a PM to my inbox with cursing and anti-semetic remarks towards me.....what IRONY!

Don't worry though. I reported Her.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

This statement is designed to use the semblance of tolerance to voice homophobic stereotypes without impunity. What it manages to expose, however, is idiocy of the highest sort. The so-called "flamboyant" guys are the ones who've advanced the gay cause by shouldering the brunt of anti-gay attacks. Stop promoting stupid stereotypes.

Yep. Gays are OK as long as they don't act too gay, you know. Unfortunately, this thread has just turned into proof of how homophobic American medical students actually are.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Ann Arbor is also a very gay-friendly city. So, pursue whatever specialty you like but try to choose locations that tend to be more liberal - it seems that the more prestigious universities, and research oriented 'college towns' are also more open to alternative lifestyles. (I know the dean of Duke Med is now a woman, Nancy Andrews, so though it's in conservative NC, the culture of the institution may change).

Also, though I don't condone this, being gay is relatively easy to hide. Being female, not so much.

I do find it ironic that people who infer that the south as stereotyped, are themselves stereotyping the south.

 

[MossPoh]

Yep. Gays are OK as long as they don't act too gay, you know. Unfortunately, this thread has just turned into proof of how homophobic American medical students actually are.

Hey, I feel uncomfortable when anyone goes into sexual talk or advances regardless of their alignment. The over-the-top thing seems homophobic but I was in a mall and had a hand placed on my butt and was told that he'd "make me see rainbows". That'd make anyone uncomfortable. I think guys that have blatant sexual advances towards women are trash as well. Just as in every group of people, there are some good, some bad, and a lot of people in the middle. Those good and in the middle vastly outweigh the bad ones. Regardless, the bad ones tend to taint things for the rest and progress the stereotypes.

 

[cfdavid]

This statement is designed to use the semblance of tolerance to voice homophobic stereotypes without impunity. What it manages to expose, however, is idiocy of the highest sort. The so-called "flamboyant" guys are the ones who've advanced the gay cause by shouldering the brunt of anti-gay attacks. Stop promoting stupid stereotypes.

Oh, give me a break. I'd argue that the gay "cause" would have been far more advanced had it NOT been for the very in-your-face, flamboyant dudes marching around with feminine mannerisms and tight, 80's style female shorts, twirling battons in some gay pride parade in San Fran. In other words, what the "viewing public" sees, and then votes accordingly.

 

[MsKrispyKreme]

proctology

 

[OnDemond]

Yep. Gays are OK as long as they don't act too gay, you know. Unfortunately, this thread has just turned into proof of how homophobic American medical students actually are.

On the contrary, I find this post a refreshing proof into how open-minded most med students are about people of other orientations. What we are saying to those who are over-the-top flamboyant is please don't stick out. We want to be tolerant towards gays, but if they purposely go overboard just to display their orientation in a decleration of "different than thou and better than thou", they will be looked down upon and might even face animosity.

PM'd you on this

 

[Hurricane95]

proctology

LMAO Your one word answer was so simple, but for some reason made me laugh so hard. Maybe my brain is fried from studying for step 2. Or maybe it's just the use of the outdated term...the word proctology always makes me laugh.


Listen, i've got a couple of gay male friends who I talk to regularly and enjoy hanging out with. I treat them like all my other straight friends. They know I'm straight, I know they're gay, big deal. What bothers me is when ANY group of people (not singling out gays, but any particular group) think that because they differ from the majority of others out there this should grant them some kind of special privilege or that they should go out there telling everyone and their mother about their personal, private life. I don't walk around with a frat shirt loudly proclaiming how many women I pegged over the weekend or how straight I am. Why? Because no one gives a damn. As a doctor, your job is to be professional and do what's best for your patients. If you do a great job and know your stuff, most people will not care if you're gay/straight, white/black/Hispanic/other, martian, etc. There will always be some ignorant bigots who will dislike you for your orientation. But unless you practice in a rural town of population 60 in rural west virginia, big deal. You will have PLENTY of patients who will love you as your doctor (because you know your stuff and care about them as patients) and come see you regularly. Done. I'm Hispanic, but I NEVER use the whole "repressed minority" gimmick to get me ahead in life. To this day I have always competed on a level playing field with every WASP out there and come out on top to get to where I am. I'm not going to try to be special and stand out or get special favors.

OP: work hard, study and do the best you can. Follow your dreams man - whether you want to be a surgeon, dermatologist, radiologist, internist, whatever - you can do it. Do well and go wherever you want to practice. Success will come to you and you'll do great if you are professional.

 

[smq123]

What bothers me is when ANY group of people (not singling out gays, but any particular group) think that because they differ from the majority of others out there this should grant them some kind of special privilege or that they should go out there telling everyone and their mother about their personal, private life. I don't walk around with a frat shirt loudly proclaiming how many women I pegged over the weekend or how straight I am. Why? Because no one gives a damn. As a doctor, your job is to be professional and do what's best for your patients. If you do a great job and know your stuff, most people will not care if you're gay/straight, white/black/Hispanic/other, martian, etc.

Why does everyone think that it's only PATIENTS who will discriminate against people for being gay?

Hurricane - I understand your points. But please try to understand what it's like to be part of a residency. You spend more time with your fellow residents than you will spend with your SO. On some off-site rotations, you will have to live in shared housing with your fellow residents - where they'll be able to overhear your phone conversations with your SO. Heck, you'll have parties and BBQs where you'll be invited to bring your SO along! Unlike when you're a med student (where you're only on service for a max of 6 weeks), you see these people for YEARS. They get to be a part of your family too. Now, if you're not comfortable with these fellow residents knowing that you're gay, you may be in for a very uncomfortable 3-7 years.

 

[Hurricane95]

Well you have a point - I see what you mean, it's true.

In that case though it's highly variable, and a student's best bet would probably be to do an away at places of interest or try to meet and greet some of the current residents at the location. Because I think this is more of an individual thing than a specialty thing. Surgeons at one program may be very open and accepting, and surgeons at another place may be total asses. Maybe at that first place where the surgeons are nice, some of the internists tend to be oppressive. I guess you'll never know just guessing by specialty...

So i guess OP is better off picking whatever specialty he likes best and is competitive for and then choosing an appropriate program where he feels he may fit better with his future colleagues.