Lifestyle High Concern for Women Surgeons

BY BRUCE JANCIN

PHOENIX -- Women surgeons place more importance on lifestyle issues than their male colleagues in deciding whether to pursue surgical subspecialty training, Dr. Jaime H. McCord said at a congress sponsored by the Association for Academic Surgery and the Society of University Surgeons.

Her 32-item survey of 58 men and 15 women who graduated from the general surgery program at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, during 1985-2006 showed 69% of women but only 43% of men rated career-related lifestyle issues as an important factor in deciding whether to seek subspecialty fellowship training.

In contrast, men and women were equally likely to list several other factors as important in their decision: a field's intellectual appeal, clinical opportunities in the field, and having an influential mentor during residency training, said Dr. McCord, a surgical resident at the university.

In all, 69% of men and 38% of women were fellowship trained. About 40% of both women and men were currently in academic practice.

Dr. McCord observed that although an increasing number of women are going into surgery, women remain seriously underrepresented. A 2002 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges indicated that women comprise about half of all medical students but only one-quarter of surgical residents. Only 12% of practicing surgeons are women. And women who do opt for subspecialty surgical training tend to cluster in a few fields: endocrine surgery, surgical oncology, and trauma.

Results of the Wisconsin survey suggest that if subspecialty program directors want to recruit more women, they should improve their efforts to address lifestyle concerns, according to Dr. McCord.

Session cochair Dr. Rosemary Kozar said she finds misconceptions abound among both male and female medical students and residents regarding the surgeon lifestyle.

"I'm a trauma surgeon. I've had to adapt to that lifestyle. But when students and residents see me at 3 o'clock in the morning and I'm up all night, what they don't realize is that I go home, get some sleep, and have lots of time to play with my kids--and that the other 25 days of the month I'm home at 5. There's a common misperception I'm not sure how to dispel," said Dr. Kozar, an ACS fellow with the University of Texas, Houston.

She added that she's not convinced career-related lifestyle issues matter more to women trainees; they may just be more willing to own up to it.

"This study helps reinforce the realization that today lifestyle concerns are relevant to both men (43%) and women (69%). In surgery, women constitute only 12 % of surgeons. In vascular surgery, the percentage is even smaller," said Dr. Vivian Gahtan when asked to comment on this story.

"Adjustments made to improve lifestyle will be desirable to both men and women. These needed changes are crucial for our specialty to recruit the best and brightest trainees," she added. Dr. Gahtan is an editorial advisor for VASCULAR SPECIALIST and professor and chief of the division of vascular surgery and endovascular services at SUNY Upstate Medical University and the Department of Veterans Affairs VA Healthcare Network Upstate New York at Syracuse.