The Challenges Faced by Women Doctors

The number of women entering the medical profession is increasing daily, and so are the challenges they face.

The number of women entering the medical profession is increasing daily, and so are the challenges they face.

In Canada, women constituted only 7% of all practicing physicians in 1961, and it had risen to 28% by 2000. By 2015, this number was expected to increase further to 40%. In the United States, women physicians grew in number from 24% in 2000 to 25.8% in 2003, while back in 1970, they made up only 7.6%.

The flourishing trend of women towards a medical profession is not unique to modern civilization. If we trace back the history of early civilizations, we will find several women who practiced the art of healing. In 2700 B.C., an Egyptian woman named Merit-Ptah was described as the chief physician of the Pharaoh's court. In Greece, Agamede was another great healer, cited by Homer before the Trojan War. The first woman physician to practice legally was Agnodike in the 4th century B.C. in Athens. This strong association of women with medicinal treatment is not without reason. In general, women are considered more empathetic towards the needs of others. They are superior nurturers and better listeners than men.

Despite being active and dedicated members of the medical profession, their acceptance into healthcare has not been the norm in any culture. Women’s participation was restricted either by law or by their male counterparts. As a result, they were compelled to work in allied medical fields (nursing and midwifery), and afterward, they started making significant contributions to the medical education and pure health fields.

Women doctors undergo drastic life changes and difficulties, such as bearing and rearing children, making a home, getting married, bringing in earnings to support the family, playing a role in the social and medical community, and keeping up with advances in the medical field. They have been burdened with the expectation to be a ‘Super Wife,’ ‘Super Doc,’ and ‘Super Mom’ all in one. According to Women in Medicine (Sophia Mobilos et al.), there are three challenges facing women physicians, namely:

• Lifestyle and career choices
• Family planning and career trajectory
• Seeking a balance between professional and personal life

Source: Female doctors by country

Lifestyle and Career Choices

According to the opinions of most women physicians, the choice of career has a strong correlation with their lifestyle, and commitment to a particular medical specialty demands a considerable sacrifice. Most women doctors and their families can’t expect a usual way of living after opting for a career that requires prolonged work hours. When they become a part of this noble profession, they have to give up hobbies and leisure activities, and most of them are content with this situation. Others who couldn’t handle the lack of work-life balance quit the job entirely. Giving up these luxuries brings rewards in the end. However, some women manage to achieve their desired equilibrium by reducing work hours.

Of course, family is the top priority of all women, so they go for a job that demands fewer working hours or a flexible schedule, allowing more time with their husbands and children. Being employed in an institution with fixed shifts creates more difficulties for women doctors.

Family Planning and Career Trajectory

The most prominent challenge that women physicians encounter is taking maternity leaves and career improvement simultaneously. They often have to take out a calendar and sort out the months to prevent disrupting their professional careers. Sometimes, they have to delay pregnancies, posing another threat to their marital life. During residency training, many women doctors avoid getting pregnant, causing fertility issues. When they get into practice, they are judged not by their capabilities but by their sex. They are given a cold welcome as they are anticipated to soon be on maternity leaves, appearing “less committed” than their male counterparts. Institutions do not support pregnant women doctors adequately, and as a result, they have to take shorter maternity leaves, which affects their health. Often the news of having a baby, which should be celebrated, is met with resentment in the workplace.

Seeking Balance Between Professional and Personal Life

Building even stability between professional and personal life worries women doctors, and failure to resolve it results in emotional discomfort and professional frustration. The mental and emotional disturbance may lead to alcohol addiction, drug abuse, depression, anxiety, and even suicide. If a woman is 80% a good doctor, 80% a good wife, and 80% a good mother, it means they are working 240% instead of 100%. It sounds like overworking, doesn’t it? Despite their involvement in multiple fields, their role is unappreciated by their husbands or male colleagues. While male physicians don’t carry the same amount of work and responsibilities at home, they often experience more success in time-demanding positions.

How can these challenges be addressed?

To remedy these issues, women doctors have emphasized the importance of workplace flexibility. Some flexibility is already provided, which is why more women are entering the profession than men. Women choose specialties based on how much adjustment is permitted. This is the logic behind the number of women opting for medicine as a specialty increasing tremendously compared to those in surgery. A healthy solution to the problem of maternity leaves is a temporary replacement of staff. The lack of child care facilities is another dilemma for women doctors with kids. This problem can be fixed by providing daycare centers in hospitals.

Decreasing the pay disparity between men and women doctors is another healthy step towards the solution. Negotiating with hospital administration for not being on call after certain hours may help women doctors balance their personal and professional lives. Discouraging gender discrimination may give them confidence and strength to cope with mental and emotional stress. So, owing to the multiple roles of women doctors at the hospital, home, and community, their encouragement should also come from various sites, including hospital administration, their family, the community, and the state.