2021 stories on women in medicine
Research published this year has shown that female physicians earn less money, experience more career obstacles and report more harassment than male physicians.
Data consistently show year after year that there continues to be a pervasive gender gap in health care, according to Shikha Jain, MD, FACP, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of hematology and oncology at University of Illinois Cancer Center, host of Healio’s Oncology Overdrive podcast and a consulting medical editor for Healio's Women in Oncology.
“An incredible amount of work women in medicine complete often go uncompensated, unrecognized and unappreciated,” she told Healio Primary Care. “With that being said, I have been inspired by the incredible women in medicine who have led with courage and tenacity. I am incredibly impressed by the resilience and heart with which our leaders have had to lead over the last year.”
This year has been a whirlwind of emotion for everyone in health care but especially for women in medicine, according to Jain.
“My hope is that when we look back on this pandemic, we see it as a watershed moment in health care where we identify inequities that exist and we are intentional in creating changes to close the gender gap in health care as opposed to widening it, as we have already begun to see,” she said.
Read some of this year’s stories about women in medicine below:
Working conditions for female family physicians leave ‘room for improvement’
A recent survey revealed that women who practice family medicine generally felt “satisfied with their careers,” researchers wrote. Read more.
Women 'significantly underrepresented' in medical journal editor positions
Among 410 leading medical journals, just 21% had a woman as editor-in-chief, according to findings published in JAMA Network Open. Read more.
97% of medical students experience imposter syndrome, survey finds
Moderate to intense feelings of imposter syndrome are extremely prevalent among medical students, according to survey results presented at the Women in Medicine Summit. Read more.
Gender pay gap persists in academic internal medicine
Despite the increasing number of women entering academic internal medicine, researchers found that “substantial salary inequities persist at the highest faculty levels and specifically in procedural-based specialties.” Read more.
Women report lower confidence in approaching residents, attendings than men
Third-year female medical students reported decreased confidence in speaking up about medical errors compared with their male counterparts, according to a presentation at the Women in Medicine Summit. Read more.
Speaker: Women physicians should focus on self-promotion, taking risks to advance careers
Similar to preparing for a marathon, women physicians should have a training plan for progressing in their career and know where they want to go and how to get there, according to a presenter at the Women in Medicine Summit. Read more.
In-hospital mortality lower among patients treated by female physicians
Patients who were treated by female physicians had a lower in-hospital mortality rate than patients who were treated by male physicians, according to results of a retrospective cross-sectional study. Read more.
The Frugal Physician's financial tips for women in medicine
Male physicians have a greater net worth than female physicians on average, according to a speaker at the Women in Medicine Summit. Read more.
Female physicians more likely to give flu shot
Female doctors were more likely than their male counterparts in the same practice to administer influenza vaccines to their older patients, according to findings published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Read more.
Study finds PPE is often not developed for women, minority groups
Personal protective equipment has not been developed for female health care workers and those from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds, leading to potentially lower levels of protective performance for these populations, according to findings published in BMJ Global Health. Read more.