NewFNP's patients need the ERA!

Gender equality has yet to make it to newFNP's patients. Sure, in our practice, the medical and dental directors are both women, as are the CFO and COO. The majority of the providers are female. NewFNP can't imagine that any of them go home to loser husbands who sit on the couch, drink beer and watch TV.

Yet newFNP has patient after patient tell me that they can't find a moment for themselves, that they care for children and homes all day long, only to care for children, homes and partners once the men come home from work. And these women have complaints of fatigue, dizziness, "low blood pressure," and sadness.

And they have no friends. NewFNP asks about friends/support systems, but these women don't have them. NewFNP screens every patient for IPV, but the majority of these women deny abuse. They are just socially isolated. If newFNP didn't have her girlfriends, oh man, that would be a grim existence indeed.

Now don't everyone go and write newFNP, telling her that she is naive and all of these women are abused and denying IPV. Please. NewFNP doesn't screen just once and she gets that it takes more than once to gain confidence. Some of these women will disclose abuse; others are just married to beer-stained couch cushions.

NewFNP knows that we are supposed to be culturally sensitive, but newFNP finds it pretty fucking difficult to be sensitive to husbands/fathers who are as lazy as tree sloths. Yeah, yeah, these guys work all day, but so do their wives. Caring for children all day long is exhausting. How much pretend play can one engage in? NewFNP isn't talking about in the bedroom now, but speaking of... Is it any surprise that these women have no sexual desire? NewFNP thinks not. In fact, newFNP is hard pressed to think of a woman who is going to want some sweet lovin' if all she does is work around the house and see her husband watch WWF while sipping on a cool Pabst Blue Ribbon.

NewFNP had an awesome 28-year old patient today who is a mother of four. She does aerobics most days making her a clear outlier in newFNP's practice. Her husband would like another baby, mostly, she believes, to keep her around the house more. She told him that is would be a cold day in hell before that happened. NewFNP felt so proud of her!

Now newFNP is all riled up and needs to see if her boyfriend did the dishes or made the bed or did something today!