Women in medicine: shaping the future

The dramatic increase in the number of women in medicine presents some new challenges to an old institution. This article provides an overview of current trends and future directions as greater numbers of women are entering medicine. The first section describes women's particular approach to medicine, including their motivations for pursuing medicine as a career, their specialty choices and practice patterns, their attitudes about patient care and doctor-patient relationships, and their advocacy for women's health issues. The second section documents women's negative experiences in medicine, such as higher stress levels than men, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, role strain, and a paucity of mentors and role models. In the final section, the authors suggest how medicine as an institution can change to better accommodate women.