The Other Woman: Your M.D.

Whether or not you have a personal female health advocate, there's one more woman you might want on your team: your M.D. Patients with female doctors report greater satisfaction and participate more fully in their personal health care. In one large study, researchers from Johns Hopkins and Northeastern University found that doctors who are women in the U.S. spend more time with patients than male counterparts, in the process establishing greater emotional rapport and encouraging the patients to get more involved. Meanwhile another study found that patients with female doctors played more active roles in their own health due, in part, to the doctor's style of communication. Partnership-building and supportive talk were among the strategies commonly used by doctors who are women to get their patients involved.