Women doctors and their careers: what now?
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Allen I
PROVIDER: S-EPMC1200597 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC1126109 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVES: To report on doctors' reasons, as expressed to our research group, for choosing academic careers and on factors that would make a career in clinical academic medicine more attractive to them. DESIGN: Postal, email and web questionnaires. SETTING: UK. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 6936 UK-trained doctors who graduated in 1996, 1999 and 2000. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Open-ended comments about a career in clinical academic medicine. RESULTS: Of doctors who provided reasons for pursuing a long-term career in clinical academic medicine, the main reasons were enjoyment of academic work and personal satisfaction, whether expressed directly in those terms, or in terms of intellectual stimulation, enjoyment of research, teaching and the advancement of medicine, and the job being more varied than and preferable to clinical work alone. Doctors' suggestions for making clinical academic medicine more attractive included improved pay and job security, better funding of research, greater availability of academic posts, more dedicated time for research (and less service work) and more support and mentoring. Women were more likely than men to prioritise flexible working hours and part-time posts. CONCLUSIONS: Medical schools could provide more information, as part of student teaching, about the opportunities for and realities of a career in clinical academic medicine. Women, in particular, commented that they lacked the role models and information which would encourage them to consider seriously an academic career. Employers could increase academic opportunities by allowing more time for teaching, research and study and should assess whether job plans make adequate allowance for academic work.
| S-EPMC4562380 | biostudies-other
Project description:ObjectiveUsing data from 40 years of national surveys of UK medical graduates, we report on ophthalmology as a career choice.Design setting and participantsSelf-administered questionnaire surveys of all graduates from all UK medical schools in selected years of qualification between 1974 and 2015.Main outcome measuresCareer specialty preferences of doctors one, three, and five years after graduation; career specialty destinations 10 years after graduation.ResultsOne year after graduation, ophthalmology was the first career preference of 1.6% of the qualifiers of 1974-83, 2.2% of 1993-2002, and 1.8% of 2005-15. The corresponding percentages three years after graduation were 1.5, 1.8, and 1.2%. Men were more likely than women to choose ophthalmology: among graduates of 2005-15, 2.4% of men and 1.4% of women did so at one year, as did 1.7% of men and 0.7% of women at five years. Seventy per cent of doctors practising as ophthalmologists 10 years after qualification had told us in their first post-qualification year that ophthalmology was their first choice of career.ConclusionsThere has been no systematic change in recent years in the proportion of recent medical graduates intending to have a career in ophthalmology when surveyed one year after graduation. However, the proportion at three and five years after graduation was lower than that at year 1. Suggestions for maintaining interest in the specialty include improved career advice, greater early clinical exposure to ophthalmology, and improved access to flexible training. Most practising ophthalmologists had made early decisions that this was their intended career.
| S-EPMC7236578 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesIn Germany, the 2018 amended Maternity Protection Act frequently leads to fundamental restrictions for female physicians, especially surgeons, and now even also for students impeding the progress of their careers. Our goal was to assess the current situation for pregnant female physicians and students, respectively, and their perspective on this amendment regarding their career path.MethodsA nationwide survey was conducted in Germany from December 2020 to February 2021. The questionnaire included 790 female physicians and students who were pregnant after the inception of the amended Act. Those women pregnant after the beginning of the corona pandemic were excluded.ResultsThe survey revealed that two thirds of female physicians worked a maximum of 50% in their previous professional activity as soon as they reported pregnancy. Amongst medical students this amounted up to 72%. 18% of the female physicians and 17% of the female medical students respectively could not follow the sense of these restrictions. 44% of female medical physicians and 33% of female students felt their career impeded. This led up to 43% amongst female medical doctors and 53% amongst female medical students, respectively, who were concerned to announce their pregnancy. As a consequence, pregnancies were reported at 12 weeks in female physicians compared to 19 weeks in medical students.ConclusionsAnalyses of the current survey revealed that a relevant number of female physicians and medical students felt impeded in their career path through the application of the amended Maternity Act.
| S-EPMC10576549 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo assess whether A level grades (achievement) and intelligence (ability) predict doctors' careers.DesignProspective cohort study with follow up after 20 years by postal questionnaire.SettingA UK medical school in London.Participants511 doctors who had entered Westminster Medical School as clinical students between 1975 and 1982 were followed up in January 2002.Main outcome measuresTime taken to reach different career grades in hospital or general practice, postgraduate qualifications obtained (membership/fellowships, diplomas, higher academic degrees), number of research publications, and measures of stress and burnout related to A level grades and intelligence (result of AH5 intelligence test) at entry to clinical school. General health questionnaire, Maslach burnout inventory, and questionnaire on satisfaction with career at follow up.Results47 (9%) doctors were no longer on the Medical Register. They had lower A level grades than those who were still on the register (P < 0.001). A levels also predicted performance in undergraduate training, performance in postregistration house officer posts, and time to achieve membership qualifications (Cox regression, P < 0.001; b=0.376, SE=0.098, exp(b)=1.457). Intelligence did not independently predict dropping off the register, career outcome, or other measures. A levels did not predict diploma or higher academic qualifications, research publications, or stress or burnout. Diplomas, higher academic degrees, and research publications did, however, significantly correlate with personality measures.ConclusionsResults of achievement tests, in this case A level grades, which are particularly used for selection of students in the United Kingdom, have long term predictive validity for undergraduate and postgraduate careers. In contrast, a test of ability or aptitude (AH5) was of little predictive validity for subsequent medical careers.
| S-EPMC165701 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In the present research, we applied a goal-congruity perspective - the proposition that men and women seek out roles that afford their internalized values (Diekman et al., 2017) - to better understand the degree to which careers in healthcare, early education, and domestic roles (HEED; Croft et al., 2015) are devalued in society. Our first goal was to test the hypothesis that men, relative to women, are less interested in pursuing HEED careers in part because they are less likely than women to endorse communal values. A second, more novel goal was to extend goal congruity theory to examine whether gender differences in communal values also predict the belief that HEED careers add worth to society and are deserving of higher salaries. In three studies of undergraduate students (total N = 979), we tested the predictive role of communal values (i.e., a focus on caring for others), as distinct from agentic values (i.e., a focus on status, competition, and wealth; Bakan, 1966). Consistent with goal congruity theory, Studies 1 and 2 revealed that men's lower interest in adopting HEED careers, such as nursing and elementary education, was partially mediated by men's (compared to women's) lower communal values. Extending the theory, all three studies also documented a general tendency to see HEED as having relatively lower worth to society compared to STEM careers. As expected, communal values predicted perceiving higher societal worth in HEED careers, as well as supporting increases in HEED salaries. Thus, gender differences in communal values accounted for men's (compared to women's) tendency to perceive HEED careers as having less societal worth and less deserving of salary increases. In turn, gender differences in perceived societal worth of HEED itself predicted men's relatively lower interest in pursuing HEED careers. In no instance, did agentic values better explain the gender difference in HEED interest or perceived worth. These findings have important implications for how we understand the value that society places on occupations typically occupied by women versus men.
| S-EPMC6095964 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC9002117 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background: PIERS on the Move (POM) is a mobile health application developed to support community health workers identification and management of women at risk of adverse outcomes from pre-eclampsia. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of using POM in Pakistan on Lady Health Workers' (LHWs) knowledge and self-efficacy related to caring for women with pre-eclampsia, and their perception of usefulness of the tool. Methodology: An evaluation was designed for health care workers involved in the Community-Level Intervention for Pre-eclampsia (CLIP) cluster randomized trial from 2014 to 2016 in Sindh Province, Pakistan (NCT01911494). A semi-structured focus group guide was developed based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which theorizes that an individual's behavioral intention to use a system is determined by perceived usefulness and ease of use. Preliminary qualitative analysis was undertaken by the Pakistan and Canadian teams to create a coding framework for full qualitative analysis, which was completed using NVivo12. Results: Three key informant interviews were conducted with two Lady Health Supervisors and one Senior Medical Officer. Sixty-two LHWs were included in three focus group discussions. LHWs found the POM app easy to use and useful for their work as a helpful repository for maternal health information and guiding counseling and management of pre-eclampsia. LHWs reported increased knowledge and confidence in their work. Availability of clinical homecare, including postpartum, was felt to positively impact healthcare provided to pregnant and postpartum women. Potential community level impacts included strengthening relationships between health care providers and communities and between LHWs and the health system. LHWs shared reports of earlier care-seeking and increased awareness of maternal health issues by community members. Conclusions: LHWs carry a large burden of responsibility for community health in rural Pakistan and appreciated the investment in their skills and capacity during the CLIP trial with the POM app. Investing in communications technology for community health workers through improved referrals and follow up may strengthen cohesiveness of the health system overall.
| S-EPMC8594017 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesThe increasing complexity and scale of medical education in the UK demands increasing numbers of medical educators. A small proportion of educators are qualified doctors, but did not reach completion of clinical training (CCT) to become consultants or general practitioners before pursuing a career exclusively in education. This study aimed to (1) explore the experiences of medical educators who left clinical practice as junior doctors and (2) identify the barriers to professional identity formation in this group.DesignIn this constructivist qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with medical educators. Audio data was recorded, transcribed and iteratively interpreted through the lens of reflexive thematic analysis.Setting and participantsNine UK-based educators were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. Participants self-identified as medical educators who have experience of the transition from working as junior clinicians to holding positions exclusively in medical education. Participants had not completed clinical training before transitioning into medical education.ResultsThree broad themes were identified: (1) push factors away from clinical medicine; (2) pull factors towards medical education; (3) navigating professional identity formation as an educator. Educators reported that medical education offered positives such as improved work-life balance, professional development opportunities and a sense of being more 'upstream' in the world of education. Significant barriers to successful transition were reported, including: a lack of guidance; low respect for medical education by the wider medical profession; and disparity between the educational opportunities afforded to consultant colleagues compared with educators who left medicine before CCT.ConclusionsEducators who leave clinical medicine before CCT perceive themselves as being disadvantaged in their education careers. This study highlights that more could be done to tackle stigmatising perceptions of a medical education career and present medical education as a viable option to junior doctors.
| S-EPMC11647326 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Objective Evaluate existing evidence on interventions intended to increase recruitment, retention and career progression within clinical academic (CA) careers, including a focus on addressing inequalities. Design Systematic review. Data sources Medline, Embase, Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials, PsycINFO and Education Resource Information Center searched October 2019. Study selection Eligible studies included qualified doctors, dentists and/or those with a supervisory role. Outcomes were defined by studies and related to success rates of joining or continuing within a CA career. Data extraction and synthesis Abstract screening was supported by machine learning software. Full-text screening was performed in duplicate, and study quality was assessed. Narrative synthesis of quantitative data was performed. Qualitative data were thematically analysed. Results 148 studies examined interventions; of which 28 were included in the quantitative synthesis, 17 in the qualitative synthesis and 2 in both. Studies lacked methodological rigour and/or were hindered by incomplete reporting. Most were from North America. No study included in the syntheses evaluated interventions aimed at CA dentists. Most quantitative evidence was from multifaceted training programmes. These may increase recruitment, but findings were less clear for retention and other outcomes. Qualitative studies reported benefits of supportive relationships, including peers and senior mentors. Protected time for research helped manage competing demands on CAs. Committed and experienced staff were seen as key facilitators of programme success. Respondents identified several other factors at a programme, organisational or national level which acted as facilitators or barriers to success. Few studies reported on the effects of interventions specific to women or minority groups. Conclusions Existing research is limited by rigour and reporting. Better evaluation of future interventions, particularly those intended to address inequalities, is required. Within the limits of the evidence, comprehensive multifaceted programmes of training, including protected time, relational and support aspects, appear most successful in promoting CA careers. Systematic review registration Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/mfy7a
| S-EPMC9462120 | biostudies-literature