
As a woman physician, how should I look?
Where, if I may ask, is the reference playbook?
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Between looking professional and looking nice
I seem to always walk on thin ice
Hair pulled back or worn down loose
Which one do I decide to choose
Projecting authority or looking young and groomed
By wearing my hair down am I doomed
To come across as inexperienced
Questioned severely on my competence
Or just show up with hair pulled back every day
Appear older, forego my vanity anyway?
Surely some makeup I should apply
Again to look more mature I must try
Can I paint my nails, and if so
For what kind of shades should I go?
I should wear flats or sensible heels
To look serious and even-keeled
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So many rules that reek of misogyny
But a consummate professional I want to be
Viewed by patients as competent
Projecting gravitas, looking confident
Are important at work, therefore I forego
Looking nice, I only want my work to show..
I have one female doctor and I could not tell you if she wears fingernail polish or not. She asks the most interesting questions, and we have great conversations, so I never notice her nails. Which is strange because she types on her laptop as we talk. Maybe it’s a compliment to her that I don’t notice?
She does wear her hair down, though!
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It is a compliment to her in my book..
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