Female medical trainees report higher stress levels than male counterparts
According to a presenter at the Women in Medicine Summit, female trainees compared with male trainees still experience disproportionate stress burdens, especially regarding parental leave and breastfeeding support.
“All trainee parents experience high stress levels, but stress levels are significantly higher in trainee parents struggling with child care financial and/or logistical challenges,” Eleanor Sharp, MD, fellow from the department of pediatrics, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, told Healio Gastroenterology. “Additionally, female trainees continue to experience disproportionate stress burdens, especially in the domains of parental leave and lack of breastfeeding support. Institutions can support the needs of female trainees by prioritizing interventions to protect time and space for breastfeeding and implementing universal, transparent parental leave policies.”
In April, Sharp and colleagues conducted a web-based survey of 1,719 residents and fellows (497 completed the survey) at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to evaluate physician trainee experiences related to parental leave, breastfeeding and child care. Factors correlated with increased parental stress were identified with the Parental Stress Scale.
Results showed the overall Parental Stress Scale score was 44.3. Sharp and colleagues noted there was no difference between male and female trainees (43.1 vs. 44.9; P = .38). Investigators noted half of the respondents reported being parents. Compared with men, women took longer parental leaves (mean, 7.4 vs. 2.3 weeks; P < .001).
According to Sharp, 36% of women compared with 13% of men reported that they would either be required or anticipated being required to extend training due to parental leave (P = .009). Leave duration was similar between women in medical compared with procedural specialties (P = .25). However, women in medical specialties were more likely to report anticipating the need to extend training (43% vs. 26% in procedural specialties; P = .034).
“Sixty-five percent of training parents reported experiencing inadequate or unreliable child care during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Sharp said during her presentation. “These trainees were also significantly stressed.”
Sharp said 83% of the 100 mothers were actively breastfeeding or had breastfed at their current training program. Breastfeeding compared with non-breastfeeding women had higher Parental Stress Scale scores women (46.7 vs. 38.3; P = .02). Sharp noted 24% of women reported their program or institution did not support their breastfeeding goals in any way. Increased stress correlated with this lack of perceived program or institutional support for breastfeeding (P < .001). Although trainees in procedural specialties compared with medical trainees noted equal breastfeeding support from their programs (P = .294), they were more likely to report that finding time and space to pump affected their breastfeeding goals (P = .01).
“Clearly this represents an area where institutional intervention can have significant impact,” she said.
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Sharp E, et al. Abstract 25. Presented at: Women in Medicine Summit; Sept. 24-25, 2021 (virtual meeting).
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