In early 2014, Dr. Ilene Ruhoy experienced dismissal of her health complaints, leading to a delayed tumor diagnosis. This reflects a systemic issue where women’s symptoms are often not taken seriously, resulting in longer diagnostic delays and misdiagnoses. Female doctors like Sarah Diekman and Alicia Miller also faced dismissive attitudes from medical professionals, with Diekman eventually self-diagnosing her rare condition. The lack of feedback on diagnostic errors in medicine contributes to this ongoing problem. Increasing diversity in the healthcare workforce is a potential solution, but deeper cultural changes are needed to address the biases and systemic issues that lead to women being dismissed and misdiagnosed.
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