Insights into the Challenges and Triumphs of Female Doctors
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As a female doctor, you have faced plenty of challenges and have had a lot of triumphs in the medical industry. For women who are just entering the field, you are going to face and triumph over plenty of challenges. Having insight into just what those challenges are can prepare doctors of any gender to not only handle them but also to make sure that we continue to work to build a much
more inclusive workplace.
The Gender Pay Gap
Whether you are looking at a neurosurgeon’s salary or the salary for a doctor, there is a significant gender pay gap for women in medicine. Even when accounting for other issues such as location, years of experience, and specialty, the pay gap is between anywhere from 10% to 33% depending on the job in question.
This is a significant problem for doctors, although the gender pay gap is closing as the years go by. It isn’t closing as much as people might like it to be, but it is closing. Many organizations are focusing on using the AAMC benchmarks to come up with the starting salaries. Additionally, they are also looking at other ways to keep closing the pay gap.
With more and more women entering the medical field in higher and higher numbers, hopefully the increase will allow for the pay gap to finally slam closed!
Mental Health Issues
Many female doctors also face more mental health crises than their male counterparts in the physicians’ role. Many women face burnout and anxiety over the inherent stress that working in the medical environment brings, but they also face plenty of harassment and microaggressions (whether intentionally or unintentionally) that will contribute to their stress level.
Understanding why this is happening and providing more avenues for women to focus on taking care of themselves is paramount. This can be a great way to improve the lives of the physicians as well as the patients they are going to be treating. Providing ways for women doctors to express their feelings and seek help when they are being treated unfairly will go a long way in this.
Providing Help For Childcare
One of the biggest problems that women in any field have is dealing with childcare. They want to raise a baby while still knowing there is a job to come back to when their maternity leave is up. But many health systems and hospitals make it very hard to accommodate for part time work. Changing this system and allowing for part time work to be an easy process to transfer to can allow for women to be mothers and physicians.
The Triumphs Outweigh the Challenges
More and more women are entering the medical field every year, and these women are rising to top fields. There hasn’t been a better time for women to take control of their lives as doctors and physicians, because they will be able to use the power they have to make real change.
