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Opportunities for Women

The Woman Physician: A Status Report

The status of women will be discussed from three perspectives: (1) an overview, (2) residency choices, and (3) faculty appointments.

An Overview

The initial profile of the typical woman physician emerged from an extensive study that was conducted in 1957 covering graduates from a 15-year period. In terms of their personal life, it showed that 57% of all female doctors were married and that these women had, on the average, 1.8 children (as against the national average of 2.3 children in all medical families). Other findings were that half of the married physicians were part of a husband-wife doctor team and that women doctors were slightly more likely to be divorced than females in the general population. Recent studies updated this profile and showed that female doctors married in the same proportion as nonphysicians and that nearly 70% of them had children. Moreover, female physicians were much more likely to have had working mothers than male doctors, indicating the importance of role models in developing career decisions.

Table 8.1 PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN IN THE 2005–2006 FIRST-YEAR CLASS
School %
Albany Medical College 63
Albert Einstein College of Medicine 51
Baylor College of Medicine 45
Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University 51
Brown Medical School 59
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine 14
Chicago Medical School, University of Medicine and Science 49
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons 48
Creighton University School of Medicine 46
Dartmouth Medical School 50
Drexel University College of Medicine 51
Duke University School of Medicine 50
East Tennessee State University, James H. Quillen College of Medicine 50
Eastern Virginia Medical School 53
Emory University School of Medicine 45
George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences 57
Georgetown University School of Medicine 55
Harvard Medical School 47
Howard University College of Medicine 57
Indiana University School of Medicine 44
Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University 47
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 53
Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California 55
Loma Linda University School of Medicine 50
Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans 50
Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport 50
Loyola University Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine 49
Marshall University School of Medicine 43
Mayo Medical School 48
Medical College of Georgia 43
Medical University of Ohio 37
Medical College of Wisconsin 45
Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine 48
Meharry Medical College School of Medicine 51
Mercer University School of Medicine 61
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine 58
Morehouse School of Medicine 64
Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the University of New York 53
New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry 49
New York Medical College 51
New York University School of Medicine 46
Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine 47
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine 44
Ohio State University College of Medicine 33
Oregon Health & Sciences University 52
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine 50
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey 51
Rush Medical College 60
St. Louis University School of Medicine 40
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine 53
Stanford University School of Medicine 48
State University of New York Upstate Medical University 46
Stony Brook University School of Medicine 48
SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences 61
SUNY Downstate Medical Center 50
Temple University School of Medicine 47
Texas A&M University System, Health Science Center, College of Medicine 55
Texas Tech University School of Medicine 46
Tufts University School of Medicine 45
Tulane University School of Medicine 46
Uniformed Services University, F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine 29
University of Alabama School of Medicine 44
University of Arizona College of Medicine 49
University of Arkansas College of Medicine 43
University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences 61
University of California — Davis, School of Medicine 54
University of California — Irvine, College of Medicine 52
University of California — Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine 56
University of California — San Diego, School of Medicine 48
University of California — San Francisco, School of Medicine 50
University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine 46
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine 45
University of Colorado School of Medicine 51
University of Connecticut School of Medicine 71
University of Florida College of Medicine 58
University of Hawaii at Maanoa, John A. Burns School of Medicine 63
University of Illinois at Chicago, College School of Medicine 47
University of Iowa College of Medicine 43
University of Kansas School of Medicine 46
University of Kentucky College of Medicine 45
University of Louisville School of Medicine 40
University of Maryland School of Medicine 58
University of Massachusetts Medical School 59
University of Miami School of Medicine 48
University of Michigan Medical School 44
University of Minnesota — Duluth, School of Medicine 47
University of Minnesota Medical School — Minneapolis 47
University of Mississippi School of Medicine 31
University of Missouri — Columbia, School of Medicine 55
University of Missouri — Kansas City, School of Medicine 60
University of Nebraska College of Medicine 44
University of Nevada School of Medicine 51
University of New Mexico School of Medicine 53
University of North Carolina School of Medicine 47
University of North Dakota School of Medicine 46
University of Oklahoma College of Medicine 39
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine 49
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine 48
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry 55
University of South Alabama College of Medicine 56
University of South Carolina School of Medicine 52
University of South Dakota School of Medicine 52
University of South Florida Collega of Medicine 52
University of Tennessee College of Medicine 38
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston 51
University of Texas Medical School at Houston 47
University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio 64
University of Texas, Southwestern Medical School at Dallas 45
University of Utah School of Medicine 38
University of Vermont College of Medicine 58
University of Virginia School of Medicine 47
University of Washington School of Medicine 47
University of Wisconsin Medical School 51
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine 45
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine 48
Wake Forest University School of Medicine 41
Washington University School of Medicine 51
Wayne State University School of Medicine 44
Weill Medical College of Cornell University 50
West Virginia University School of Medicine 43
Wright State University School of Medicine 56
Yale University School of Medicine 55

In terms of their professional lives, it was found that women tended to practice in larger cities and that a large number (over one-third) worked either on a fixed salary or in what could be characterized as “fixed-hours” positions. Also, women had a slightly higher tendency to specialize than men, with the most popular fields being pediatrics, psychiatry, anesthesiology, and pathology. Other fields having significant appeal to women were obstetrics-gynecology, internal medicine, family practice, and public health. About half were found to have been in full-time practice all of their professional lives and 87% in full- and part-time practice.

Since the 1957 study was conducted, it is clear that extensive changes have occurred. Opinions about the importance of a career for a woman have changed, as well as attitudes concerning traditional family patterns.

Group practice and part- or full-salaried positions with hospitals, health departments, medical schools, or pharmaceutical companies are but some of the ways in which women can enjoy medical careers with regular and reasonable hours. With the increase in the number and size of Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and the possibility of some form of national health insurance plan, the number of these positions most assuredly will increase.

A significant impact that will improve the status of women in medicine is the fact that many women physician leaders say that they feel a responsibility to mentor young women, because they have found that good mentors helped them excel in their own careers. Mentors can be a valuable asset during training. They advise and encourage and can provide inside information. Mentors can serve to nominate their proteges for committee assignments, awards, grants, and competitive positions, and facilitate research and publication. It is not unique to utilize mentoring as a device for professional advancement, since it has long been a primary career tool in medicine. Seeking guidance from a mentor should be a route to follow, even when there are obstacles to establishing such a relationship.

Residency Choices

With the doors being opened to women, they have moved out of the traditional fields of postgraduate training into all major specialty areas, to differing degrees. A recent survey of the distribution of women in the major residences shows that they can be grouped into six groups, which we categorize as a percentage of all residents:

  1. above 50%: pediatrics, geriatric medicine, dermatology, obstetrics/gynecology;
  2. 40–50%: preventive medicine, psychiatry;
  3. 30–40% family practice, internal medicine, pathology, pediatric subspecialties;
  4. 20–30%: anesthesiology, emergency medicine, internal medicine subspecialties, diagnostic radiology;
  5. 10–20%: surgery and its subspecialties; and
  6. under 10%: orthopedic surgery, urology.

Faculty Appointments

With women assuming a larger role in medical practice, it is natural that some should elect to enter the field of medical education or academic medicine. They represent about 20% of the basic and clinical science faculties and make up more than 30% in such departments as family practice, obstetrician/gynecology, pediatrics, physical medicine, psychiatry, and public health. This matches the representation in residency training areas, as is indicated in the preceding section.

Additional topics

Job Descriptions and Careers, Career and Job Opportunities, Career Search, and Career Choices and ProfilesGuide to Medical & Dental SchoolsOpportunities for Women - Historical Overview, Women's Health Issues, Medicine: A Career For Women, Doors Are Open