Family and neurosurgery - a balancing act between vocation and responsibility

Reconciling a career in neurosurgery with caregiving responsibilities can present major challenges. While recent scientific work has increasingly focused on the disadvantages faced by women, less attention has been paid to the experiences of men who engage in caregiving in an increasing proportion. The potential tension between the role of a man taking over with caring and that of a neurosurgeon remains largely unexplored.

The aim of our survey is to shed more light on the perceived disadvantages faced by neurosurgeons of both genders in balancing childcare with career advancement.

We conducted a Germany-wide, 33-question online survey focusing on discrimination and burden due to "caring" in a neurosurgical career.

In total, 272 individuals responded to the survey. The male to female ratio was 173/98 (p < 0.001). Inappropriate comments on caring were perceived by 49.78% of respondents, with women being significantly more frequently affected (67.0% vs 39.4%, p < 0.001). During job interviews, 28.63% were asked about family planning with women being affected more often (40.9% vs. 21.4%, p < 0.001). On a satisfaction scale of 0-100 (0 = negative, 100 = positive), experienced disadvantages due to caring were rated at 48.1, management flexibility at 52.4, team flexibility at 61.2, and actual working conditions at 31.4.

According to our data, a significant proportion of men are also affected by discrimination due to "caring," even though women still appear to be affected to a greater extent. Working conditions are perceived as the worst factor for balancing caregiving and work.