Why women go to medical college but fail to practise medicine: perspectives from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Moazam, Farhat; Shekhani, Sualeha Siddiq

doi:10.1111/medu.13545

Cited by 43 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…Prejudice, inequality or injustice restricts universal access to safe high‐quality health care that underpins the sustainable development of nations . The number of female medical students and doctors is increasing across the world, but sociocultural factors relating to their gender limit their ability to participate in all aspects of medicine . Gender‐related inequalities have been cited as a factor that can lessen learning opportunities for medical students in clinical practice .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Man up’: Medical students’ perceptions of gender and learning in clinical practice: A qualitative study

et al. 2019

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Context Gender‐related inequality and disparity hinders efforts to develop a medical workforce that facilitates universal access to safe, just and equitable health care. Little is known about how medical students perceive the impact of their gender on their learning in clinical practice. Our aim in this study was to address this gap, establishing students’ perceptions of the impact of their gender on learning in the clinical context as part of the wider medical education community of practice. Methods We undertook a qualitative study that simultaneously gathered data through narrative individual interviews and online case reports from male and female students (n = 31) from different academic cohorts with prior experience of clinical practice in a Russell Group University medical school in the UK. Interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically alongside case report data. Results and discussion The participants revealed that there was a culture in clinical practice where their gender influenced how they were taught and supported by senior medical and surgical colleagues. Gender was also said to determine the clinical learning opportunities afforded to students, especially with regards to the care of patients of a different gender. The mentorship and support for learning provided to students in clinical practice was also said to be influenced by the medical student's gender. Conclusion Our findings suggest that students undergo a gendered clinical apprenticeship within what are in effect gendered communities of practice with some distinct features. These findings underscore the imperative for further work to establish how medical students of all genders can be supported to fulfil their potential in clinical practice.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Man up’: Medical students’ perceptions of gender and learning in clinical practice: A qualitative study

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The global imperative to improve medical education is long established, but there continues to be considerable debate about gender diversity in medicine. In this issue, Moazam and Shekhan's paper on why women study but do not practise medicine provides new insights into the deleterious impact that sociocultural mores, values and gender norms can have on women's ability to practise medicine. In recent times, there has been greater societal awareness and debate about some of the unique challenges that confront women in the workplace and hinder their ability to flourish and fulfil their potential.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The United Nations and the World Health Organization contend that the empowerment of women in all sections of society is integral to the global attainment of sustainable development that is fair, just and equitable. Despite this global consensus, research and anecdotal evidence shows that women in medicine face sociocultural challenges and discrimination that limit their ability to practise medicine. These challenges are of particular concern as medicine is becoming a female‐dominated profession.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Explanations have been proffered to account for the differences in the numbers of women in different branches of medicine. One view is that women tend to opt for particular areas within medicine out of consideration of their domestic circumstances and refer to factors such as working hours and workload predictability, whereas another posits that women choose not to pursue careers in the more challenging areas of medicine . Others have argued that women have been more readily welcomed in some areas of medicine, such as general practice, because of historic recruitment issues …”

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confidence: 99%

“…However, in other areas of medicine, such as surgery, in which technical skill and intellect are perceived by many to be of the uppermost importance, the numbers of women are disproportionately low . This discrepancy may indicate that women make conscious and informed decisions to work in areas of medicine that are congruent with their attributes and preferred lifestyle . It may also demonstrate that women are implicitly or explicitly discouraged from pursuing careers in areas of medicine that are perceived to be more intellectually or technically demanding by more senior colleagues who believe that male doctors are better suited to practise in these areas …”

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confidence: 99%

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