A study of the demand for part-time residency programs

A survey was conducted at the Medical College of Pennsylvania to measure the magnitude of demand for part-time residency programs and to assess the motivations underlying such interest. Responses from 206 females and 96 males (84 percent of all students) indicated that approximately 39 percent would probably or definitely apply to part-time residencies if they were available. As was expected, interest was greater among women and was greatest among women who were parents. At the same time, however, there was considerable interest which was not related to marital or parental status and which derived from a general dissatisfaction with the time demands of traditional graduate medical training. While there are many other factors to be considered, the demand for part-time residency programs probably far exceeds the supply of such programs and, with the continued expansion of the numbers of women physicians, will probably continue to grow.