Challenges Facing Women Doctors
The number of women entering the medical profession is increasing by the day, and so are the issues they face. In Canada alone, women accounted for just 7% of all practicing doctors in 1961, and by 2000 had risen to 28%. This figure is projected to increase by more than 40% by 2015.
In the United States, women physicians increased from 24 percent in 2000 to 25.8 percent in 2003, compared to only 7.6 percent in 1970. The increasing trend of women towards the medical profession is not unique to modern civilization. If we track back the past of early cultures, we will note a variety of women interested in the healing arts.
Women are usually perceived to be more receptive and empathetic to the needs of others than people. They are superior nurses and better listeners than other men. Despite being an active and committed member of the medical community, their admission into the field as a healthcare provider has not been the rule of any society.
They have to face a variety of obstacles, such as: they have to bear and raise babies, they have to build a home, they have a romantic partnership, they have to provide for family care, they have a part to play in the social and medical world, they have to keep up with developments in the medical sector. And we expect them to be some kind of entity that we call “Super wife, Super Doc, and Super Mom.”
Lifestyle and career choices
As per the opinions of most women physicians, the career path has a strong relationship with lifestyle, and a devotion to certain specialties demands great sacrifice in family life and lifestyle. Most female doctors and their families can not expect a normal lifestyle after choosing a specialty that requires long working hours.
Once they are part of this noble career, they have to behave nobly by giving up any of the things they may have liked to do, and most of them are happy with this condition. In order to maintain a balance between their careers and their personal lives and to increase the time allocated to parenting, they need to reduce working hours.
For sure, the family is the very first priority of all women, so they have a specialty that requires less working time or one in which working hours can be planned to fit their family life. A flexible work schedule is a requirement for most female doctors since they want to spend more time with their husbands and children.
Career improvement and Family planning
The biggest obstacle for women doctors is scheduling maternity leave as they learn about planning their children and developing their jobs at the same time. Sometimes they have to delay pregnancy, which poses another threat to their marital life. Numerous women physicians avoid becoming pregnant during residency training, and this delay may lead to infertility.
When they get into practice, they are judged not by their expertise and skills, but by their sex. This is because it is presumed that they will quickly be on maternity leave and they’re not as committed as their male counterparts are.
Seeking Balance between professional and personal life
Finding a balance between personal and professional life is yet another big obstacle that women physicians have to confront, and the inability to achieve this task results in mental distress and professional disappointment. The final outcome of this emotional and mental disturbance can lead to drinking, drug abuse, depression, anxiety, and even suicide. If they are 80% good doctors, 80% good wife, and 80% good mothers, it means they are working 240% instead of 100%.
How to meet these challenges?
In order to overcome these challenges, women doctors have emphasized the significance of flexibility in the workplace. Some versatility is already given, which is why more women are joining the profession than men are. Women choose professions not because of their interest or passion, but because of the flexibility that they offer. A healthy solution to the problem of maternity leaves is a temporary replacement for staff.
Reducing the wage gap between male and female physicians is another healthy step towards finding a solution. Negotiating with hospital administration for not being on call after those hours can allow women physicians to find a balance between their personal and professional life. Discouraging workplace discrimination can give them the strength and confidence to cope with their problems.
Reference: http://www.medpharmjobs.com/a/963,challenges-facing-women-doctors
Photo de Gustavo Fring provenant de Pexels
