An epidemic of unnecessary hysterectomies has plagued womankind. Stereotyping has given rise to skepticism about the competency of women and has led to the discounting of symptoms they report. Some misunderstandings have been corrected, whereas others remain to be addressed. Until these issues are adequately explored, a gaping hole will remain in medical knowledge, and patient care will be less effective than the ideal. We now know that such assumptions create significant errors in scientific research and medical practice.
Women react differently to pharmaceutical products.
They experience and report pain differently. They have a different physiology than men in virtually every system of the body. As we learn more about the scope of the differences between men and women, researchers have begun to recognize that women cannot be excluded from research if optimal knowledge and treatment are the goals. Similarly, clinicians must critically reexamine their knowledge and judgments in light of evolving knowledge about gender. Gender preferences and assumptions, however unconscious, also play a role in setting research agendas.