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Academic versus non-academic women physicians: data from the Women Physicians' Health Study
1Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-3219, USA. efrank@fpm.eushc.org
Purpose:
To help encourage women physicians to enter academe, the authors gathered information about how academic and non-academic women physicians (AWPs and NAWPs) differed demographically, personally, and professionally.
Method:
The authors examined data from the Women Physicians' Health Study, a nationally representative questionnaire-based study conducted in 1993-1994.
Results:
The 453 AWPs were more likely to be U.S.-born, white, and self-defined as liberal than were the 3,986 NAWPs. The AWPs were more likely to be board-certified and to work in urban areas, reported fewer clinical and more non-clinical hours, earned less, and performed more continuing medical education. The AWPs reported less work control and were more likely to report working too much, but were also less likely, if they could relive their lives, to want to change specialty. AWPs and NAWPs had similar career satisfaction, work stress, and personal health habits.
Conclusion:
AWPs who come from a somewhat narrow demographic group, may not provide the variety of role models necessary for encouraging ethnic diversity in medical schools. Despite somewhat greater reported work hardships, AWPs are a very professionally satisfied and motivated group.