The impact of gender and parenthood on physicians' careers - professional and personal situation seven years after graduation

Abstract

BackgroundThe profile of the medical profession is changing in regard to feminization, attitudes towards the profession, and the lifestyle aspirations of young physicians. The issues addressed in this study are the careers of female and male physicians seven years after graduation and the impact of parenthood on career development.MethodsData reported originates from the fifth assessment (T5) of the prospective SwissMedCareer Study, beginning in 2001 (T1). At T5 in 2009, 579 residents (81.4% of the initial sample at T1) participated in the questionnaire survey. They were asked about occupational factors, career-related factors including specialty choice and workplace, work-life balance and life satisfaction. The impact of gender and parenthood on the continuous variables was investigated by means of multivariate and univariate analyses of variance; categorical variables were analyzed using Chi-square tests.ResultsFemale physicians, especially those with children, have lower rates of employment and show lower values in terms of career success and career support experiences than male physicians. In addition, parenthood has a negative impact on these career factors. In terms of work-life balance aspired to, female doctors are less career-oriented and are more inclined to consider part-time work or to continue their professional career following a break to bring up a family. Parenthood means less career-orientation and more part-time orientation. As regards life satisfaction, females show higher levels of satisfaction overall, especially where friends, leisure activities, and income are concerned. Compared to their male colleagues, female physicians are less advanced in their specialty qualification, are less prone to choosing prestigious surgical fields, have a mentor less often, more often work at small hospitals or in private practice, aspire less often to senior hospital or academic positions and consider part-time work more often. Any negative impact on career path and advancement is exacerbated by parenthood, especially as far as women are concerned.ConclusionThe results of the present study reflect socially-rooted gender role stereotypes. Taking into account the feminization of medicine, special attention needs to be paid to female physicians, especially those with children. At an early stage of their career, they should be advised to be more proactive in seeking mentoring and career-planning opportunities. If gender equity in terms of career chances is to be achieved, special career-support measures will have to be provided, such as mentoring programs, role models, flexitime and flexible career structures.

Formação das mulheres nas escolas de medicina

“…As mesmas pesquisas que apontam a crescente feminização da medicina indicam também a teimosa persistência da discriminação e do hiato de gênero na profissão. Pesquisas que se dedicam a estudar e comparar o processo de formação de homens e mulheres na medicina concluem que as mulheres médicas sofrem significativo impacto negativo provocado por estereótipos sexistas e discriminação de gênero já durante os anos de formação 12,14,15,21 . Formas sutis de discriminação encontram-se profundamente enraizadas na cultura médica e fazem com que homens e mulheres não estejam em situação de igualdade.…”

“…De uma profissão dominada pelos homens, a medicina passa a ser uma profissão em que a maioria dos novos licenciados são mulheres, e, ao menos nos países mais urbanizados e industrializados, essa tendência representa um fenômeno global 2,3,8,10,11 . Em países como Reino Unido, Austrália, Canadá, Estados Unidos 12,13 , Suíça, Alemanha 14,15 e Holanda 16 , as mulheres representam em torno de 60% dos novos licenciados. Na Austrália e em Portugal, no final da década de 1990, elas já representavam, respectivamente, 68% e 69% dos novos ingressantes 13,10 .…”

“…A feminização da medicina tem desencadeado grandes mudanças nessa categoria profissional, e uma das mudanças de maior impacto tem sido a escassez de mão de obra em algumas especialidades. A "preferência" das mulheres por especialidades como Pediatria e Ginecologia e Obstetrícia tem ocasionado um déficit de profissionais, por exemplo, nas especialidades cirúrgicas 11,12,14,17,18 . No Japão, pesquisas realizadas pelo Departamento de Medicina e Saúde Coletiva da Escola de Medicina da Universidade de Yamaguchi alertam para o fato de que o país passa por uma crise na medicina por falta de profissionais em determinadas especialidades e que essa carência será agravada pelo aumento das mulheres na medicina 17 .…”

Impact of Interventions to Increase the Proportion of Medical Students Choosing a Primary Care Career: A Systematic Review

“…Specialty choice is complex, influenced by gender, career motivation and life goals, 8 as well as attitudes about social responsibility. 1 In a review of the North American literature published through 1993, Bland, Meurer and Maldonado identified student-and curriculum-related determinants of primary care specialty choice as described in their paper published in 1995 (Appendix 1).…”

Mentoring Women Psychiatry Residents: Implications for Academic Leaders and Educators

“…The benefits of mentorship and the challenges of being a woman in residency training make residency the ideal time to initiate a mentoring relationship. Despite its importance, a recent study by Buddeberg-Fischer et al showed that female physicians were less likely to have a mentor than men (40.5 vs. 58.9 %) [5]. A mentorship needs survey of the psychiatry residents I conducted at McMaster University also showed that just 30 % of the female residents had a mentor (n=9/27), while 56 % of males did (n=5/9).…”