Exploring the Impact of Gender Bias Among Medical Trainees

Research has suggested that health care providers are not immune to implicit and explicit gender bias among their own colleagues and in the treatment of patients. To date, limited research examines gender bias in trainees and how that bias might intersect with patient care. Our study focused on gendered expectations, perceived competence of medical providers, and perceived acceptability of patients who advocate for themselves.

We used a 2x2x2x2 mixed design to examine the impact of participant gender, type of physical exam (vaginal vs elbow), trainee status, and gender of vignette physician. Participants read and responded to vignettes depicting various standardized clinical scenarios. The complete sample included 342 participants from a rural medical teaching hospital and a private liberal arts college in the same geographic region.

Findings suggested a significant interaction between physicality and gender of the participant on perceived competence.

Although males and females had similar ratings of competence on an exam with low physicality (elbow), the data suggested that males did not recognize how errors during clinical practice may impact a hypothetical female patient. Future research might examine interventions that aim to increase awareness of gender bias among medical trainees and to explore whether interventions might improve patient care and perceptions of competence following identified errors.