Well, LOL, I've received a few emails from my post, so let me clarify :)
A commenter by the name of 'Weezie' made an excellent point and excellent points IMO deserve kuddos. In case you did not read her comment, it is as follows:
"agree with your point that you should not falsify a " bed rest" or " do not work" prescription..... HOWEVER, I also don't think that a woman should be looked down upon because she CHOOSES not to work during her pregnancy. Life is about choices and if she has the life-style that can afford for her to stay at home during and after her pregnancy (more power to her). Pregnancy is not a Illness or a disability but if a woman makes a choice not to work than its her right to do so..... without any negative judgment from other ( In my humble opinion it seems like we judge women who want to stay at home to harshly)."
I think she brings up the important point in the fact that if you DECIDE to take an extended maternity leave there is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with that. If a woman wants to take six months off postpartum (after delivery) that is 100% fine! If a male wants to take paternity leave, again, rock on! However, I would again be appalled if I were approached as a physician to falsify their request by turning it into a medical need.
I feel that the same applies for pregnancy. It's not that I don't care about this particular patent's pain, BUT it is not preventing her from working. She MEDICALLY can work, though she has the right to SOCIALLY take off from work if she decides to do so, I don't think that I should be cursed out when I give her alternatives or suggest that I could write a modified activity request to her employer stating that she could perform a position allowing her to sit more. She simply didn't want to work, which is fine, but don't look for me to create a medical reason not to do so because YOU CAN WORK.
And I am sorry, but if your coping mechanism is cursing out your physician because they don't provide you with a work excuse, seriously. . . . you need anger management, I will gladly write a script for that. Actually, I probably made her more upset by not getting upset (or at least showing that I was heated, because that's what she wanted. Thank goodness for my clinic colleagues who could document that I was very respectful to my rude patient during our encounter).
The only other point I'll address is a comment saying I was being judgemental. . . Yeah, I agree I was. . . however, the title of the blog is "The Loud Mouth Resident". I basically vent at times the emotions I have to keep inside in order to be professional at work. . . likewise, every post I write will not be rosey. The majority of my posts are lighthearted, but some aren't and that's kinda just the way life goes. Also, if you read the post, it is directed at my encounter with that ONE patient and does not mean that I feel women are lazy and wish to be barefoot and pregnant at home.
And actually, I do grant quite a few work excuses for compassionate reasons. For instance, the expecting mother who has a miscarriage and has a surgical procedure performed at 8am could in theory return to work the next day. However, I ask the patient if they would like 2-3 days off work to have time to process their loss emotionally. Or if a patient is discharged from the hospital on a Wed, I'll give them off until that Monday depending what the hospitalization was for. . . .
Basically, Good point Weezie. Women should not be held to different standards than their male counterparts! Equal pay for equal work, burn those bras, rah rah rah!
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