Physician experience is associated with greater underestimation of patient pain

Abstract

ObjectiveProcedural pain is unique in that physicians simultaneously cause and assess it. Experienced male physicians are known to underestimate their female patients’ pain more than other physicians. However, it is unknown whether this also occurs in obstetrics/gynecology, where all patients are females. This study addresses the gap in literature on procedural pain assessment accuracy. MethodsThe present research compares paired pain evaluations from 20 obstetricians/gynecologists and their 92 female patients. ResultsOur data demonstrate that patients’ reported pain levels (M = 5.53, SD = 2.7) were significantly higher than their physicians’ pain estimates (M = 4.89, SD = 2.19), t = 2.64, p < 0.005. The gap between patients’ and physicians’ pain estimates was greatest among physicians with the greatest procedural experience (M = 1.49, SD = 2.24), f = 5.72, p < 0.005. Male physicians underestimated their patients’ pain significantly more than female physicians do, t = 2.27, p < 0.05. ConclusionOur results shed light on systematic underestimation of procedural pain and highlight the significance of experience and sex differences in pain evaluation. Practice implicationsPhysicians’ experience influences their perception of patient pain while performing procedures. Experienced male physicians, even those who exclusively treat female patients, need to be aware of this ubiquitous bias in assessing their female patients’ procedural pain.