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| Hero also loved Emotional Female, but for slightly different reasons. Image (c) Anne Quain 2021. |
In February 2019, the Sydney Morning Herald ran an article
by Kate Aubusson entitled “Exhausted Surgeon Dismissed as an Emotional Female”.
I recall reading the heartbreaking story of plastic and
reconstructive surgery unaccredited registrar Yumiko Kadota – the punishing
hours she worked, the extreme demands she faced in her workplace, including sleep
deprivation, and her account of the dismissal of her own illness by medical
colleagues.
What struck me was how ironic it was that any kind of
healthcare system was designed in such a way that it could have a detrimental
impact on the health of its workers. We see healthcare professions as healthy, right? They know the stuff about health and wellbeing that we don't. But knowing and doing are different things.
Dr Kadota’s story resonated in the light of the current
discussion about the wellbeing of veterinary professionals. We devote energy to
promoting and restoring the welfare of our patients – right down to reflecting
on their fear, anxiety and distress in veterinary settings, and doing
everything in our power to minimise these. Synthetic pheromones. Places for shy
patients to hide. Allowing buddies to be hospitalised together. Offering treats
when we give injections.
We talk about the five freedoms of animal welfare – freedom from hunger, thirst, discomfort, pain, and freedom to express normal behaviours. We know all about welfare and the things that compromise it.
But we seem challenged when it comes to protecting our own freedoms, promoting our own welfare. In some
cases, I think it is safe to say that we wouldn’t work dogs or cats like we
work ourselves.
And when I say ourselves, I am not suggesting that the
blame lies with individuals. Sickness in healthcare settings is a complex
interaction between individuals, management and environments – the systems in
which we operate.
I contacted Dr Kadota and she gave a brilliant talk at
the Mental Wellbeing for Veterinary Teams Symposium in 2019 about the need to
put your health first.
Earlier this year, Yumiko – describing herself as a “recovering
doctor” – released a frank book about her experiences.
Appropriately, the book is entitled “Emotional Female”.
It is a thought-provoking, highly readable autobiography
documenting a gruelling career trajectory. Despite clear differences between veterinary
and human healthcare, I think many veterinary professionals will be able to
relate.
Yumiko talks about beginning her career with konjo
– Japanese for approaching everything with guts, “drawing inspiration from the
samurai spirit”. She describes the challenges of her medical degree and
training, early encounters with trauma and suffering, reflecting on what it means
to be “a good doctor”, and the constant drive to be better.
As she climbs the training ladder, she admits that “I did
sometimes wonder if I’d ever be satisfied. When there’s always more, you feel
like you’re never good enough.”
At the same time, her social life becomes “bargaining
with friends and loved ones all the time – a continuous cycle of cancelling and
making up for cancelling.”
She shines a spotlight on sexism, misogyny and the treatment
of women who “speak out”.
Her work becomes all-consuming, but it isn’t sustainable.
Yumiko, a doctor, eventually becomes a patient, aware that the roles can be
seen as mutually exclusive.
“We accept when patients have mental illnesses, but if it’s
a colleague there can be a lot of stigma attached. It’s seen as a sign of
weakness or a personality flaw. I was realising I had the same prejudices and needed
to fight them.”
Emotional Female is a brilliant, sometimes difficult,
always compelling read. It will make you think about what it means to be a good
health care professional, how health care systems impact the health of
healthcare professionals themselves, and what it really means to be a good doctor.
