Aging and feminization of the physician workforce in Canada: Comparing ophthalmologists to all other physicians

Abstract

ObjectiveTo describe the changing demographic of ophthalmologists compared with all other physicians in Canada. DesignCross-sectional study. ParticipantsOphthalmologists and all other physicians listed in the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and Canadian Medical Association (CMA) databases. MethodsThe CIHI database was used to determine the yearly number, mean age, and sex of licensed ophthalmologists and all other physicians in Canada from 1970 to 2011. The CMA database was used to determine the 2011 provincial sex distribution of ophthalmologists. ResultsThe mean age of physicians is increasing over time; however, the mean age of ophthalmologists has been greater than all other physicians since 1972 by a mean of 2.4 years. In 2011, the mean age of all ophthalmologists was 53.1 years compared with 50.4 years for all other physicians. The yearly mean age of female ophthalmologists (48 in 2011) and all other female physicians (46.1 in 2011) was younger than males. The proportion of female ophthalmologists has increased from 3.1% to 20.5% from 1970 to 2011. This is significantly less than all other specialties where the proportion increased from 7.8% to 36.8% (p < 0.001). The proportion of female ophthalmologists varies significantly among the provinces from 7.1% in Newfoundland and Labrador to 31.1% in Quebec in 2011. ConclusionsThe mean age of all physicians is increasing over time with ophthalmologists being, on average, 2.3 years older than other physicians. Although the proportion of female physicians is increasing, the rate of increase is less in ophthalmology compared with all other physicians and varies significantly between provinces.