Productivity of women physicians

Personal interview data obtained from 87 randomly selected women physicians in metropolitan Detroit indicates that productivity of women physicians has increased over that shown in previous studies. Eighty-four percent were engaged in medical work at the time of survey, 90% full-time. Only 7% were not working for reasons related to being a woman. Fifty-nine percent had worked continuously full-time since medical school graduation. Nearly half do not plan to retire from medical work. Fifty-eight percent are in private practice and 51% in primary care specialities; 54% are board certified. Direct patient care was listed as their main task by 86% of the women. Sixty-seven percent are married (43% to physicians). Although the 87 women physicians have responsibilities for households containing a total of nearly 300 people, almost one third of whom are children under 18 years old, their productivity is high.