![]() ![]() ![]() “I really feel the power differential, despite being a woman who is highly educated, working in the healthcare field, with my husband beside me, who’s also educated.” Sarah admits. The stress and intimidation associated with this information asymmetry is what Sarah explains as a phenomenon known as the ‘white coat syndrome,’ which many patients feel when interacting with their health care providers. This feeling, as if there’s a metaphorical wall between the patient and provider, is common. It felt like the doctor had to put effort into saying it was my decision what to do next. “It felt like there was gatekeeping around information and decision-making with regards to what was happening, and what was an appropriate next step. But his answer, albeit aimed at alleviating the couple’s concerns, didn’t mesh with the sense of urgency Sarah felt and only made things worse. “Our doctor told us that we were young and healthy, and that there wasn’t much to worry about,” Sarah explains. “But that’s the category we fall under.”Īs a woman who has thrived off of access to information, having received a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and then a Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, this lack of insight was frustrating, and the lack of answers disheartening. “Nobody has used the words ‘unexplained infertility’ with us,” Sarah says. In February 2018, the couple had their first appointment.ĭiagnostic testing unveiled little. In the meantime, Sarah proactively took matters into her own hands and self-referred to another fertility clinic. Yet despite this unparalleled level of availability, it took months to get a referral appointment. ![]() “Vancouver only has three - Toronto and the surrounding area has at least 15.” “We’re very lucky in Toronto to have the most fertility clinics per capita in Canada,” Sarah says. After a year of failed pregnancy attempts, and at the recommendation of their trusted family doctor, they decided to enlist the support of fertility specialists, of which there are many in the Greater Toronto Area. For the past two years, she and her husband have been relentless in their efforts to conceive a child, with little luck. Sarah is a healthy, 31-year-old woman living in Toronto. Gaps that, despite her knowledge and experience, Sarah struggled to bridge on her own. It wasn’t until she and her husband began experiencing infertility while trying to conceive a child did the gaps in her care begin to appear. Sarah herself was once convinced she knew what it took to get proper care. As a professional who develops clinical practice guidelines and healthcare standards, one would assume Sarah Burke Dimitrova is able to navigate Ontario’s healthcare system with ease. ![]()
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