From "Whiny Woman" to Clinicians Who Care: The Fight Against Medical Dismissal Bayo CurryWinchell, MD, MS September 9, 2025 at 4:25 AM 0 From "Whiny Woman" to Clinicians Who Care: The Fight Against Medical Dismissal I recently came across a video of Katie Couric and Dr.
- - From "Whiny Woman" to Clinicians Who Care: The Fight Against Medical Dismissal
Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD, MS September 9, 2025 at 4:25 AM
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From "Whiny Woman" to Clinicians Who Care: The Fight Against Medical Dismissal
I recently came across a video of Katie Couric and Dr. Mary Claire Haver discussing something that made my blood boil and my heart break at the same time. They were talking about the labels doctors place on women, specifically the shorthand "WW" for "whiny woman," a term I knew.
I couldn't scroll past that: I had to stitch that video and add to the conversation with my experience.
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As a board-certified family medicine physician with over two decades of practice, I've witnessed this dismissal from both sides, both as a doctor observing it in patients and as a patient who has experienced it myself. But what I shared in that stitch was something even more insidious: another piece of medical shorthand that I learned in school called "TW," which stands for train wreck. It's used to label patients deemed too complicated, too difficult, or too much trouble.
I know because I was one of those patients.
During medical school in Chicago, while I was literally surrounded by healthcare professionals, I developed symptoms that turned my life upside down. Hair falling out in clumps. Swelling in my fingers and toes. Exhaustion so profound I could barely function. When I sought help from doctors, people who should have been my colleagues and allies, I was told repeatedly that it was related to stress from medical school. That it was "all in my head."
Multiple doctors dismissed my concerns. They prescribed medications that made everything worse. They made me question everything I knew about my own body, leaving me confused and doubting whether what I was experiencing was even real. The irony wasn't lost on me: here I was, training to become a helper, and I couldn't get anyone to hear my concerns and help me feel better.
It took two years of persistence to find a doctor who listened and believed my symptoms. The diagnosis? Lupus and a clotting disorder. I knew something was wrong, so knowing the names meant everything, even if they were serious; they explained every single symptom I'd been told to ignore. Every symptom that had been labeled as stress, anxiety, or simply being "in my head."
When I stitched Katie and Dr. Haver's video with my story, I expected it might resonate with some women who'd had similar experiences. What I didn't expect was the profound response that followed.
Within five days, my videos hit nearly 3 million views across TikTok and Instagram. But the real story wasn't in the view count; it was in the comments section, where thousands of women shared their stories of being minimized, gaslighted, mislabeled, and not believed, and sent away without answers.
But then something beautiful started happening in those same comments. These women weren't only sharing their trauma, but also the names of doctors who had finally believed them. The healthcare providers who had listened, who had cared enough to dig deeper, who had helped them get the answers they desperately needed.
I was inspired by the outpouring of comments and DMs that contained the names and stories of providers who positively impacted people's lives. One woman shared that it took 42 years before she found a doctor who believed her symptoms and helped her finally get diagnosed with ADHD. Several doctors had dismissed a 16-year-old girl, but her mom refused to stop until she found someone who believed something was wrong. These stories kept coming, and each one included the names of healthcare professionals who had finally listened and believed them. That moment when you finally learn the name of a diagnosis that actually makes sense is something each of these people clearly remembers. As a doctor, I love helping people, but I know I can't personally treat everyone who needs help. However, I know there are so many phenomenal clinicians out there, but it can be incredibly hard for patients to find and connect with them. So I figured I could help in a different way by crowdsourcing a list of healthcare providers who were already recommended by patients who'd had good experiences.
That's how Clinicians Who Care was born: a crowdsourced database where patients anonymously submit healthcare providers who genuinely listened, believed, and helped them get answers. The list is free, accessible at DoctorBayo.com, and organized by geography, specialty, and provider type. In less than a week, we received nearly 1,000 submissions from all 50 states, plus international entries from Europe and Australia.
While women's voices sparked this movement and rightfully so, given how disproportionately we're dismissed in healthcare settings, the database is designed to help anyone who needs compassionate, validating care. Patients of all genders, ages, and backgrounds can use and contribute to the list.
Here's what makes me most excited about this project: it's not another study documenting how broken our system is. It's not another social media rant that disappears in a news cycle. It's a practical tool that empowers patients and creates positive incentives for healthcare providers.
Think about it: We research everything before we buy it. Whether it's restaurants, cars, or electronics, we read reviews and ratings in advance. But when it comes to choosing someone to hold our lives in their hands, we're often flying blind. Insurance directories tell you who's in network and where they went to medical school, but they don't tell you who will truly listen when you say something's wrong.
Sometimes the most powerful solutions come from the people who've lived through the problems firsthand.
Clinicians Who Care changes that equation. It creates accountability through transparency and highlights the providers who are getting it right. Every dismissal story has a story of a doctor who listened, believed, and cared enough to find answers. Those are the providers we need to celebrate and amplify.
The response to Clinicians Who Care has been overwhelming, not because the problem is new, but because patients finally have a tool that puts them in control. Every day brings more submissions, each one representing both a caring provider and hope for someone who's been searching for answers.
We can't fix decades of ingrained medical culture overnight. The shorthand, the labels, and the dismissal are systemic issues that require systemic solutions. But we can start building a parallel healthcare navigation system where being heard isn't a luxury, it's the standard.
My story of dismissal nearly broke me, but it also gave me the perspective and motivation to create something that could help millions of other patients avoid the same experience. Sometimes the most powerful solutions come from the people who've lived through the problems firsthand. What started as women sharing their trauma has become a patient-powered movement that rewards empathy and demands better care. That's the kind of change I can get behind.
Find the list and add your own clinician here.
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