“When will I see the doctor?” Most female doctors have been asked this question many times. It feels like a slight: a lack of recognition of the struggle that was necessary to get where they are, a struggle that is far from over once a woman earns her medical degree.
Women currently represent more than half of medical students, but only about 37% of practicing doctors. This is partly because the composition of the medical workforce is lower than that of the student body. But it's also because persistent sexism causes greater burnout among women in medicine.
Even in households headed by a working mother and father, women are often expected to be the primary caregiver. As a result, female physicians often feel forced to work part-time, choose lower-paying specialties such as pediatrics, or leave the profession altogether.
This is unfortunate not only for doctors but also for patients. In general, female doctors are more empathetic, more detail-oriented, and more willing to deliver than their male counterparts. In other words, they are better doctors.
It is true that this is a generalization, but it is worth making. I experienced this firsthand working with female colleagues, and that experience inspires me in addressing my own medical needs. I prefer to see female doctors.
It wasn't always like this. But after seeing a series of male doctors who wouldn't listen to me, were in a hurry to get out of the exam room, or seemed only mildly interested in discovering the cause of my problem, I made the change, and I'm not going to do it. back. While I found that male doctors generally decided what my diagnosis was and how to treat it before I entered the exam room, female doctors tended to be open-minded about what my medical problems were and gasp! — listen to my answers to your questions.
But don't take my word for it. Look at the data.
A recent study found that both male and female patients had lower mortality rates when they were treated by doctors. Perhaps not surprisingly, the benefits of receiving care from women were greater for women than for men.
“What our findings indicate is that male and female physicians practice medicine differently, and these differences have a significant impact on patient health outcomes,” saying Yusuke Tsugawalead author of the study.
Female doctors seem more likely to discover the root cause of a medical problem, as we are taught to do in medical school, rather than simply treating the symptoms.
“Female physicians spend more time with patients and participate more in shared medical decision-making,” study co-author Dr. Lisa Rotenstein told Medical News Today.. “Evidence from the outpatient setting demonstrates that female physicians spend more time on electronic health records than their male counterparts and provide higher quality care. In the surgical setting, female physicians spend more time on a surgical procedure and have lower rates of postoperative readmissions. We need to ask ourselves how to provide training and incentives so that all doctors can emulate the care provided by female doctors.”
One reason for the discrepancy could be the propensity of male doctors to be more selfish. They may revert to “splaining” to patients rather than building an equal and cooperative relationship between patient and doctor. I've been guilty of that myself, so I know it when I see it.
What is blocking the advancement of women in medicine? Old-fashioned sexism in the workplace is the most obvious answer. Female doctors are paid on average 25% less than their male counterparts, according to the 2019 Medscape Physician Compensation Report, and earn approximately $2 million less over a 40-year career.
There is also a power imbalance. Men are more likely to be full professors at medical schools and presidents of professional medical associations. A 2019 survey found that female oncologists were less likely than their male counterparts attending scientific meetings due to childcare and other demands. And anyone in medicine will attest that these conferences provide opportunities to seek leadership positions.
Excluding women from leadership deprives young female doctors of role models. While I have not seen female doctors being asked to serve coffee for their male colleagues (although I have seen female nurses being asked to do so, even recently), the unequal distribution of responsibilities is undeniable. . Female physicians are often overburdened with menial and unpaid assignments, secretarial duties, and committee service that do not necessarily lead to promotions, taking precious time away from activities that would be more likely to advance their careers.
These and other factors lead to higher rates of burnout among female physicians. TO 2022 American Medical Association. survey found that 57% of female physicians reported experiencing at least one burnout symptom, compared to 47% of men.
“Female physicians earn less than men, work harder, have fewer resources, are less likely to be promoted, and receive less respect in the workplace,” Roberta Gebhard, former president of the American Medical Women's Association, told the Hill. “With all of these barriers to success in the workplace… it's no wonder that female doctors are more likely than men to leave practice.”
The patriarchal system is alive and well in medicine and it is not helping our patients. We must address this outdated disparity. It is up to medical institutions to defend women doctors, not only as grassroots doctors but also as leaders of the profession and its organizations. Patients should also examine their own assumptions and question the notion that seeing a male doctor will give them better results.
It is time for doctors to live up to one of medicine's highest ideals: that all people be treated equally. That includes doctors.
David Weill is a physician, former director of the Stanford Center for Advanced Lung Diseases, director of the Weill Consulting Group, and author, most recently, of “All that really matters.”
