Women in academic medicine: combining career and family

Article Abstract:

Over the past 10 years the number of women entering academic medicine has increased significantly. The stresses of balancing the demands of career and family were examined in a national survey of women currently holding academic positions in medicine. The question of how the women managed their careers and families was addressed, along with an inquiry into their satisfaction level in both these areas. From a list of physicians in the Association of American Medical Colleges, 862 women who were 50 years old or younger were sent a questionnaire and eighty percent of the delivered questionnaires were completed. Most of these women had children (63 percent) and close to half of that number had delayed their childbearing until after completing medical training. The mean age of the respondents was 38.1 years, and they had an average of 1.9 children, with only three having four or more children. Most of the women worked right up until delivery and took a median time of six weeks off from work after the birth of their children. Although the majority of these women reported that they were satisfied with their careers and the decision to have children, 78 percent indicated that they believed that childbearing had hindered their career progress. Some of the conflicts reported by the respondents included deciding when to become pregnant, how long to wait after the birth of their children before resuming their jobs, and finding adequate child care. One third reported an absence of any formal policy of their employers regarding maternity leave and another third did not know if their employer had such a policy or not. In addition to concerns regarding a lack of productivity during this postpartum period, the women reported that their temporary absence put a strain upon their colleagues and no provisions were made by the employers to handle the work in their absence. Most of these women had no role models available to them earlier in their careers and were not aware of any women currently in positions similar to their own. Researchers also noted that the study is representative of the women who were successful in maintaining full-time careers and families and does not account for those who may have resigned their academic posts or altered their career paths.

Case studies, Family, Women physicians, Women in medicine

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Mission critical -- integrating clinician-educators into academic medical centers

Article Abstract:

A new promotion pathway must be developed for clinician-educators at academic medical centers. Most of the doctors at academic medical centers are full-time faculty who spend 80% or more of their time conducting research. Clinician-educators spend most of their time caring for patients and supervising medical students and residents. However, it is hard for them to get promoted because promotion committees focus on how many articles doctors have published rather than how many patients they have treated. Clinician-educators at academic medical centers should not be forced to publish papers or become well-known researchers.

Officials and employees, College faculty, Medical colleges, Medical school faculty, Hospitals, University, University hospitals

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A study of sexuality and health among older adults in the United States

Article Abstract:

Sexual activity, behaviors, and problems of older adults in U.S. were studied. Results concluded that women are less sexually active compared to men.

United States, Sexual behavior, Aged, Elderly, Sexual behavior surveys, Sexual behaviour surveys, Clinical report

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