Staff Engagement in Male, Female and Non-Binary Doctors Working in Non-Profit Australian Hospitals

BackgroundDespite reports highlighting the need for greater medical engagement and the benefits being widely understood, there is currently no information on the engagement status of doctors working in non-profit Australian...

All doctors face challenges and pressures that can lead to job burnout. The dual pressures of work and family make female doctors less happy and more likely to experience burnout, but few studies have focused on female doctors. In this study we explore the influence of job burnout on female clinical doctors’ subjective wellbeing and the moderating role of perceived social support. A casual comparative study design was used for this research. Three self-reporting scales (Maslach Burnout Inventory, Perceived Social Support Scale and Subjective Wellbeing Scale) were distributed to participants, who were selected through random sampling. Participants consisted of 120 female and 120 male doctors from a hospital of Yantai City. Female doctors scored significantly higher than male doctors in the emotional exhaustion dimension (p < 0.01), and female doctors’ subjective wellbeing was lower than that of male doctors (p < 0.01). The three dimensions of job burnout and subjective wellbeing exhibited significant negative correlations, and a positive relationship was found between perceived social support and subjective wellbeing in female doctors (p < 0.01). Perceived social support, especially from family, played a moderating role between emotional exhaustion and subjective wellbeing, and the moderating effect was significant (p < 0.01). A significant difference was observed between male and female doctors; female doctors experienced more emotional exhaustion and lower subjective wellbeing than male doctors. Improving perceived social support could reduce burnout and enhance subjective wellbeing.

BackgroundIncreasing feminization of medical professions is well-acknowledged. However, this does not always equate to equitable representation of women within medicine, regarding their socio-demographic indicators, regions, sectors and fields of practice. Thus, this paper quantifies the gap in supply of female medical doctors in relation to demand, towards reaching different gender equity scenarios.MethodsA retrospective review of the Health Professions Council of South Africa’s (HPCSA) database on registered medical doctors (medical practitioners and medical specialists) from 2002 until 2019 was utilized as an indicator of supply. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data, and inferential statistics (considering a significance level of 0.05) were utilized to determine the association between the number of male and female doctors, disaggregated by demographic variables. We forecasted future gaps of South African male and female doctors up to 2030, based on maintaining the current male-to-female ratio and attaining an equitable ratio of 1:1.ResultsWhile the ratio of female doctors per 10 000 population has increased between 2000 and 2019, from 1.2 to 3.2, it remains substantially lower than the comparative rate for male doctors per 10 000 population which increased from 3.5 in 2000 to 4.7 in 2019. Men continue to dominate the medical profession in 2019, representing 59.4% (27,579) of medical doctors registered with the HPCSA with females representing 40.6% (18,841), resulting in a male-to-female ratio of 1:0.7. Female doctors from the Black population group have constantly grown in the medical workforce from 4.4% (2000), to 12.5% (2019). There would be a deficit of 2242 female doctors by 2030 to achieve a 1:1 ratio between male and female medical doctors. An independent-samples t-test revealed that there was a significant difference in the number of male and female doctors. The Kruskal–Wallis test indicated that there was a sustained significant difference in terms of the number of male and female doctors by population groups and geographical distribution.ConclusionsBased on the investigation, we propose that HRH planning incorporate forecasting methodologies towards reaching gender equity targets to inform planning for production of healthcare workers.

More doctors needed, without discrimination

STUDY OBJECTIVETo investigate the suicide risk of doctors in England and Wales, according to gender, seniority and specialty.DESIGNRetrospective cohort study. Suicide rates calculated by gender, age, specialty, seniority and time...

We examined the differences in work patterns between female and male doctors in Canada to gain insight into the effect of an increased number of female doctors on overall doctor productivity. Data on the practice profiles of female and male doctors across Canada were extracted from the 2007 National Physician Survey. A doctor productivity measure, 'work hours per week per population' (WHPWPP), was created, based on the number of weekly doctor hours spent providing direct patient care per 100,000 citizens. The predicted WHPWPP was calculated for a hypothetical time-point when the female and male doctor populations reach equilibrium. The differences in current and predicted WHPWPP were then analysed. Female medical students currently (2007) outnumber male medical students (at 57.8% of the medical student population). The percentage of practising doctors who are women is highest in the fields of paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, psychiatry and family practice. Female doctors work an average of 47.5 hours per week (giving 30.0 hours of direct patient care), compared with 53.8 hours worked by male doctors (35.0 hours of direct patient care) (P < 0.01, chi(2) test). Female doctors tend to work less on call hours per week and see fewer patients while on-call. Female doctors are also more likely to take parental leave or a leave of absence (P < 0.01, chi(2) test). The difference in current and predicted WHPWPP was found to be 2.6%, equivalent to 1853 fewer full-time female doctors or 1588 fewer full-time male doctors. Gender appears to have a significant influence on the practice patterns of doctors in Canada. If the gender-specific work patterns described in the present study persist, an overall decrease in doctor productivity is to be anticipated.

Professional recognition of female and male doctors

Recent years have seen a considerable shift from male doctors to female doctors in the field of gynecology. Female doctors are traditionally more involved with planning and maintaining their family. For gynecology, this could be associated with a risk that research activities will decrease, particularly if results are published in scientific journals. In view of this shift, a comparative observational study was carried for 2022 in which 1306 publications were matched to 1786 female and male doctors reported on the websites of the 44 locations of university gynecology departments in Germany. In addition, the volume of publications issued between 2014 and 2022 was compared for Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In Germany, the volume of publications in Gynecology was additionally compared with the publication outputs of the specialties Urology and Trauma Surgery. Since 2014, the increase in the numbers of publications in the field of Gynecology in Germany was lower (225%) than that of the countries with which it was compared (238%/252%/260% for F/UK/USA). When Gynecology was compared with other medical specialties in Germany, the number of publications in Urology were found to have increased at a lower rate (196%) while the number of publications in the field of Trauma Surgery increased by more (286%) than that of Gynecology. At the start of 2023, the percentage of women who were working as doctors at the lowest hierarchical level (junior doctor) was 81%. The publication output per capita of female doctors working at lower levels in the medical hierarchy, i.e., working as junior doctors and senior physicians, was between 40% and 80% lower than that of male doctors working at the same level. However, female directors published as much as male directors did. In the lower hierarchy levels, men were up to 14% more likely to be without an academic title. Predictors for more extensive publication activities by young female and male doctors include the extent and quality of publications by doctors in senior positions, the presence of a comprehensive cancer center or an institute for human genetics at the location where the young doctors were working, and joint publications with foreign authors. For the German Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics, the results suggest a number of approaches to promote young researchers. The support provided to young female doctors is especially important as this should help to retain them as junior researchers over the long term.

BackgroundHand hygiene (HH) is essential in the prevention of hospital-acquired infections. It is known that there are differences in the compliance of HH between men and women but the reason for this phenomenon is unclear.MethodsA survey on HH was conducted in July 2018 among healthcare workers at four different referral hospitals in South Korea. The differences between male and female doctors were then analyzed. The survey included a structured questionnaire with seven parts: (1) self-assessment of HH execution rate, knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding HH, (2) internal motivation for better HH, (3) obstacles for HH, (4) emotional motivation, (5) the need for external supervision, (6) preference for alcohol gel, and (7) embarrassment due to supervision.ResultsOf the 1046 healthcare workers that replied to the survey, 201 (19.2%) were doctors, and of these, 129 (63.5%) were men. There was no significant difference between male and female doctors on the questionnaire related to knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding HH. On the questions regarding internal motivation for better HH, male doctors had a higher tendency to agree that “I would be better at HH if it was related to getting a promotion,” but the results were statistically insignificant (5.08 vs. 4.69, P = 0.08). For the 14 questions about the obstacles for HH, the following five categories showed significantly higher results in men: (1) HH is difficult in emergency situations (4.87 vs. 4.51, P = 0.02), (2) time that could be spent on something more important is wasted on HH (3.12 vs. 2.67, P = 0.008), (3) HH is not a habit (3.26 vs. 2.58, P = 0.002), (4) I often forget about HH situations (3.60 vs. 2.89, P = 0.002), and (5) I do not perform HH because there is no disadvantage when I do not perform it (3.06 vs. 2.42, P = 0.008). In the category “HH causes pain and dryness of hands,” female doctors had a significantly higher tendency to agree (3.62 vs. 4.32, P = 0.003). Among the questions regarding emotional motivation, women had a higher tendency to agree that “Seeing a fellow employee perform bad HH angers me,” but there was no statistical significance (3.73 vs. 4.10, P = 0.07).ConclusionThere was a significant difference between male and female doctors regarding obstacles for HH. A campaign for HH based on these results could be helpful for increasing HH compliance.DisclosuresAll authors: No reported disclosures.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between work-family conflict and burnout, and the mediating role of psychological capital (PsyCap) in the relation between work-family conflict and burnout, among Chinese doctors. This cross-sectional study was performed during the period of September/October 2010. A questionnaire that comprised work-family conflict assessed by the work-family conflict scale, PsyCap assessed by the PCQ-24 scale and burnout assessed by the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS), as well as age and gender, was distributed to 1,300 doctors in Liaoning Province, China. A total of 1,011 effective respondents became our final study subjects. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed by using SPSS 17.0 to explore the mediating role of PsyCap in the relation between work-family conflict and burnout. Both work interfering family conflict (WIF) and family interfering work conflict (FIW) were positively related with emotional exhaustion and cynicism among both male and females doctors. However, WIF was positively related with professional efficacy only among male doctors, whereas FIW was negatively related with professional efficacy among both male and female doctors. PsyCap partially mediated the relation between WIF and professional efficacy among male doctors and partially mediated the relations of FIW with emotional exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy among female doctors. Work-family conflict was associated with burnout among Chinese doctors. PsyCap was a mediator between work-family conflict and burnout. PsyCap might be a positive resource to reduce the negative effect of work-family conflict on burnout of doctors, especially female doctors, in China.

Background: Doctors know everything about cause, diagnosis, treatment and care to be taken for diabetes mellitus. This study was carried out to evaluate awareness, attitude and practices of diabetes in doctors.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 100 male and 100 female doctors of various subjects who attended a conference at Mangaluru 25th to 27th October 2018.Results: Prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 12% in male doctors while it was 8% in female doctors. 11 (91.66%) male doctors and 8 (100%) female doctors were taking medicines for diabetes regularly, 8 (66.66%) male doctors and 7 (87.5%) female doctors were doing blood sugar regularly, 7 (58.33%) male doctors and 5 (62.5%) female doctors were doing diet control, 7 (58.33%) male doctors and 5 (62.5%) female doctors were doing exercise regularly, 9 (75%) male doctors and 8 (100%) female doctors were using footwear while 6 (50%) male doctors and 4 (50%) female doctors were taking proper dental care.Conclusions: In present study, doctors were aware of causes, diagnosis, treatment &amp; care to be taken in diabetes. Still, routine check-up was not seen in 100%. After diagnosis, doctors were taking medicines quite regularly but regular follow up for diabetes &amp; cardiovascular risk was seen in less numbers.

This study was carried out in the framework of a wider research project concerning the degree of patient satisfaction with the various types of primary health care. We have studied the relationship among the gender of the doctor, the gender of the patient and the type of primary health care center involved. In 1 type of primary care center (health centers) the medical staff work as a team, whereas in the other (ambulatory care services), the doctor works alone. The survey was conducted among 86 doctors and 860 patients from urban areas in Andalusia, Spain. The degree of patient satisfaction was tested on Likert scales. Both male and female patients attended by female doctors were more satisfied than those attended by male doctors (P < 0.005). Both male and female patients were attended in equal proportions by both male and female doctors (P > 0.20). Overall patient satisfaction values were not affected by the patient's gender (P > 0.40). In comparing overall satisfaction among patients according with the doctor's gender and type of primary health care center, there was a greater degree of satisfaction with female doctors working in health centers (P < 0.01) and no difference existed in ambulatory care services in this area.

With increasing evidence of disease transmission through doctors' white coats, many countries have discouraged doctors from wearing their white coats during consultations. However, there have been limited studies about patients' preferences concerning doctors' attire in Malaysia. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate patients' perceptions of doctors' attire before and after the disclosure of information about the infection risk associated with white coats.This cross-sectional study was conducted from 1st June 2015 to 31st July 2015 at three different primary care settings (government, private, and university primary care clinics) using a self-administered questionnaire. A 1:5 systematic random sampling method was employed to select the participants. The respondents were shown photographs of male and female doctors in four different types of attire and asked to rate their level of confidence and trust in and ease with doctors in each type of attire. Subsequently, the respondents were informed of the risk of white coat-carried infections, and their responses were reevaluated. Data analysis was completed using SPSS Version 24.0. Associations of categorical data were assessed using the Chi-Square test, while the overall change in perceptions after the disclosure of additional information was examined using the McNemar test. Results with p-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.A total of 299 respondents completed the questionnaire. Most of the respondents had more confidence and trust in the male (62.5%) and female (59.2%) doctors wearing white coats. A high proportion of the respondents from the government clinic (70.5%) felt more confidence in male doctors dressed in white coats (p-value = 0.018). In terms of ethnicity, male doctors in white coats were highly favored by Malays (61.0%), followed by the Chinese (41.2%) and Indians (38%) (p = 0.005). A similar preference was observed for the female doctors, whereby the highest number of Malays (60.3%), followed by the Chinese (41.2%) and Indians (40.0%) (p = 0.006), had a preference for female doctors wearing white coats. Only 21.9% of the initial 71.9% of patients who preferred white coats maintained their preference (p < 0.001) after learning of the risk of microbial contamination associated with white coats.Most patients preferred that primary care doctors wear white coats. Nevertheless, that perception changed after they were informed about the infection risk associated with white coats.

Background: International experience has demonstrated that the medical profession is becoming less dominated by men. This “feminization of medicine” has been a topic of much debate in the medical literature. As the gender ratio in the profession changes, it is likely that a greater proportion of undergraduate education will be provided by women. Whether this shift away from the male-dominated provision of medical education will have an effect on undergraduate education is unknown. Purpose: The aim of this research was to clarify whether there are differences between the attitudes and practices of male and female junior doctors regarding the practice of undergraduate teaching. Method: A survey methodology among a cohort of nonconsultant hospital doctors in a major Irish teaching hospital was utilized. The overall response rate was 93%. The cohort held a positive attitude toward teaching undergraduates, and the majority were actively engaged in this activity. Doctors of both genders expressed a willingness to undertake teacher training. Results: There were no significant differences between the genders regarding the self-reported quantity of teaching provided to undergraduates. Male doctors perceived themselves as more confident educators when compared to female doctors, but this is likely to reflect cohort demographics in which a greater proportion of male doctors were more senior. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that male and female doctors have similar attitudes toward, and practices in, voluntary undergraduate teaching. As a result, any gender shift in medicine is unlikely to result in a significant change in junior doctors’ attitudes toward undergraduate medical education.

How do gender differences in family responsibilities affect doctors' labour supply? Evidence from Australian panel data.