16 Apr Home Responsibilities Encourage Physician Mothers in Procedural Specialties To Consider Career Change
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Melnitchouk
Nelya Melnitchouk, MD,MSc
Director, Program in Peritoneal Surface Malignancy, HIPEC
Dr. Melnitchouk is an associate surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital (BWFH) and
instructor of surgery at Harvard Medical School.
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Current literature on women in surgery show that female physicians, particularly those in procedural specialties, face many challenges in balancing responsibilities between work and home. We hypothesized that these challenges may affect career satisfaction more negatively for physician mothers in procedural specialties than those in nonprocedural specialties.
In our study, we found that physician mothers in procedural specialties who had more domestic responsibilities were more likely to report a desire to change careers than those in nonprocedural specialties.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: Overall, physician mothers tend to have more domestic responsibilities than their spouses and partners. Moreover, physician mothers in procedural specialties who take on more tasks at home may be more likely to be dissatisfied with their careers. It is important to consider potential solutions such as extended child care services, increased flexibility in scheduling, outsourcing tasks when needed, and emphasizing more equitable division of household labor.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?
Response: In further studies, we hope to include responses from spouses and partners of physician mothers – this would address some of the biases that may have been introduced in our study.
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Last Updated on April 16, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD