Gender Differences In Selecting Medical Specialties

In many different professions, there are personality and gender differences that make the work environment unique. In the medical profession, there are personality and gender differences among specialties. Research supports that many medical students with certain personality attributes, are selecting medical specialties with matching qualities. Gender is another factor that has a significant role in the selection process. While these factors do not determine the success of the physician, personality and gender have an important effect on how medical students are selecting their medical specialties. Over the years many studies have been conducted to determine if personality testing can improve specialty selection, however, personality traits

Each clinical specialty has its own environments, responsibilities, and patient exposure. In 1986, 476 participants from three different London Universities completed questionnaires that were headed with one of the following specialties; anesthetics, general practice, gynecology, hospital medicine, pediatrics, pathology, psychiatry, radiology, and surgery. The surprising results from this study presented that pediatricians were seen as the most emotionally stable group and the most emotionally demanding specialty. The anesthesiologist were seen as boring, but also the least likely to abuse their power, while surgeons and hospitalist specialist were viewed as “unapologetic” and less focused on patient care and more focused on the problem (Furnham, 1986). The stereotypes presented in Furnham’s study are still prevalent in medical students, which is ultimately leading to the imbalance of specialties in the medical labor market. Graduates from Cornell University were surveyed in 1989 about the important deciding factors for their specialty choice, 13% switched their preferred specialty from internal medicine, pediatrics, and family practice due to lifestyle reasons (Mowbray, 1989). This draws conclusions that if medical students know their strengths and weaknesses during the early stages of their clinical rotations, it can

The aspects that affect the decision- making process have been researched before, during, and after medical school. While some students enter medical school with a specialty in mind that never change, other students are influenced by external factors such as financial success, academic performance, program curriculum, overall workload, and patient exposure. The biggest factors which help lead to the ultimate selection are personality and gender. History still concludes that men are more prominent in the surgical field, while women tend to cluster in specialties like pediatrics, psychiatry, or obstetrics and gynecology. By knowing the effects that gender can have on a specialty choice, will hopefully influence the participation of gender diverse education across all medical practices. A study performed from 1959-1960 discovered, “The sex of the doctor and the performance in medical school predict specialty choice better than personality factors (Walton, 1969). Despite this evidence, personality inventory can be a very useful tool to help predict if a specialty will align with a student’s character. Even though these factors do not determine the achievements of a physician, the awareness that these influences have on specialty selection will hopefully decrease the imbalance of specialties in the