Gender disparities among medical students choosing to pursue careers in medical research: a secondary cross-sectional cohort analysis

BMC Medical Education - Tập 21 - Trang 1-10 - 2021
Austin Snyder1, David Xiang1, Alison Smith2, Shannon Esswein3, Omar Toubat2, John Di Capua4, Jennifer M. Kwan5, Dania Daye4
1Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA;
2Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, USA
3David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, USA
4Department of Interventional Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA
5Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, USA

Tóm tắt

Though the proportion of women in medical schools has increased, gender disparities among those who pursue research careers still exists. In this study, we seek to better understand the main factors contributing to the existing gender disparities among medical students choosing to pursue careers in medical research. A secondary cross-sectional cohort analysis of previously published data was conducted using a 70-item survey that was sent to 16,418 medical students at 32 academic medical centers, and was IRB exempt from the need for ethical approval at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania. Data was collected from September 2012 to December 2014. Survey results were analyzed using chi-square tests and Cramer’s V to determine gender differences in demographic characteristics (training stage, race/ethnicity, marital status, parental status, financial support, and parental career background), career sector choice, career content choice, specialty choice, foreseeable career obstacles, and perceptions about medical research careers. Female respondents were more likely to be enrolled in MD-only programs, while male respondents were more likely to be enrolled in MD/PhD programs. More male students selected academia as their first-choice career sector, while more female respondents selected hospitalist as their first-choice career sector. More female respondents identified patient care and opportunities for community service as their top career selection factors, while more male respondents identified research and teaching as their top career selection factors. Student loan burden, future compensation, and work/life balance were the most reported obstacles to pursuing a career in medical research. There are many factors from a medical student’s perspective that may contribute to the existing gender disparities in pursuing a career in medical research. While much progress has been made in attracting nearly equal numbers of men and women to the field of medicine, active efforts to bridge the gap between men and women in medical research careers are needed.

Tài liệu tham khảo

Funston G, Piper RJ, Connell C, Foden P, Young AM, O’Neill P. Medical student perceptions of research and research-orientated careers: an international questionnaire study. Med Teach. 2016;38(10):1041–8.

Laurent L, Sosenko T, Zamfirova I, Hartwig C. Exploring equality in leadership roles. Physician Leadership J. 2017;4(3):36–40.

Chellaiyan VG, Manoharan A, Jasmine M, Liaquathali F. Medical research: perception and barriers to its practice among medical school students of Chennai. J Educ Health Promot. 2019;8.

Moraes DW, Jotz M, Menegazzo WR, Menegazzo MS, Veloso S, Machry MC, et al. Interest in research among medical students: challenges for the undergraduate education. Rev Assoc Med Bras. 2016;62(7):652–8.

Yamazaki Y, Uka T, Shimizu H, Miyahira A, Sakai T, Marui E. Japanese medical students’ interest in basic sciences: a questionnaire survey of a medical school in Japan. Tohoku J Exp Med. 2013;229(2):129–36.

Biomedical Research Workforce Working Group Report. Natl institutes heal. 2012. https://biomedicalresearchworkforce.nih.gov/docs/Biomedical_research_wgreport.pdf. Accessed 1 May 2021.

McGee R Jr, Saran S, Krulwich TA. Diversity in the biomedical research workforce: developing talent. Mount Sinai J Med. 2012;79(3):397–411.

Bismark M, Morris J, Thomas L, Loh E, Phelps G, Dickinson H. Reasons and remedies for under-representation of women in medical leadership roles: a qualitative study from Australia. BMJ Open. 2015;5(11).

Shaikh AT, Farhan SA, Siddiqi R, Fatima K, Siddiqi J, Khosa F. Disparity in leadership in neurosurgical societies: a global breakdown. World Neurosurg. 2019;123:95–102.

Boulis AK, Jacobs JA. Feminization of an evolving profession. In: The changing face of medicine: women doctors and the evolution of health care in America. Ithaca: Cornell University Press; 2008. p. 25–8.

Bickel J, Wara D, Atkinson BF, Cohen LS, Dunn M, Hostler S, et al. Increasing women's leadership in academic medicine: report of the AAMC project implementation committee. Acad Med. 2002;77(10):1043–61.

Guelich JM, Singer BH, Castro MC, Rosenberg LE. A gender gap in the next generation of physician-scientists: medical student interest and participation in research. J Invest Med. 2002;50(6):412–8.

Edmunds LD, Ovseiko PV, Shepperd S, Greenhalgh T, Frith P, Roberts NW, et al. Why do women choose or reject careers in academic medicine? A narrative review of empirical evidence. Lancet. 2016;388(10062):2948–58.

Kwan JM, Daye D, Schmidt ML, Conlon CM, Kim H, Gaonkar B, et al. Exploring intentions of physician-scientist trainees: factors influencing MD and MD/PhD interest in research careers. BMC Med Educ. 2017;17(1):1–16.

Kwan JM, Toubat O, Harrison AM, Riddle M, Wu B, Kim H, et al. A nationwide assessment of perceptions of research-intense academic careers among predoctoral MD and MD-PhD trainees. J Clin Transl Sci. 2020;4(4):307–16. https://doi.org/10.1017/cts.2020.18.

Akoglu H. User's guide to correlation coefficients. Turkish J Emerg Med. 2018;18(3):91–3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjem.2018.08.001.

Rowell TR, Redd RA, Neuberg DS, Walensky LD. Mind the gap: expediting gender parity in MD-PhD admissions. JCI insight. 2020;5(4).

Asgari MM, Carr PL, Bates CK. Closing the gender wage gap and achieving professional equity in medicine. Jama. 2019;321(17):1665–6.

de Costa J, Chen-Xu J, Bentounsi Z, Vervoort D. Women in surgery: challenges and opportunities. IJS Glob Health. 2018;1(1):e02.

Fuentes-Afflick E. Promoting inclusion in academic medicine. JAMA Netw Open. 2018;1(4):e181010.

Soto-Greene M, Culbreath K, Guzman DE, Sánchez JP, Romero-Leggott V. Diversity and inclusion in the academic medicine workforce: encouraging medical students and residents to consider academic careers. MedEdPORTAL. 2018;14.

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

BMC Medical Education

Tập 21

1-10

Thông tin tác giả