The Steeper Obstacles Faced by Women in Medicine

by Dhruv Khullar

Happy medical residents are all alike. Every unhappy resident would take a long time to count.

A new study in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests yes.* Dr. Constance Guille and colleagues analyzed the mental health of more than 3,100 newly minted doctors at 44 hospitals across the country. Before starting residency, men and women had similar levels of depressive symptoms. After six months on the job, both genders experienced a sharp rise in depression scores — but the effect was much more pronounced for women. A major reason: work-family conflict, which accounted for more than a third of the disparity.

The structure of medical training has changed little since the 1960s, when almost all residents were men with few household duties. 

This article is worth reading by all trainees, prospective physicians, and practicing doctors.

Someday, this may be the reality

 *  Work-Family Conflict and the Sex Difference in Depression Among Training Physicians. Constance Guille, etl a.  JAMA Intern Med. 2017;177(12):1766-1772. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.5138  

Conclusions and Relevance:  This study demonstrates that depressive symptoms increase substantially during the internship year for men and women, but that this increase is greater for women. The study also identifies work-family conflict as an important potentially modifiable factor that is associated with elevated depressive symptoms in training physicians. Systemic modifications to alleviate conflict between work and family life may improve physician mental health and reduce the disproportionate depression disease burden for female physicians. Given that depression among physicians is associated with poor patient care and career attrition, efforts to alleviate depression among physicians has the potential to reduce the negative consequences associated with this disease.