THE RISE


Ongoing debate In a Commons debate in June, MP Anne McIntosh said the number of women in the NHS was a “burden”, while fellow MP Anna Soubry described them as a “drain on resources”. This followed a similarly critical newspaper article in January


by oncology surgeon Professor J Merion Thomas. He expressed his concerns about the low numbers of female doctors choosing more demanding specialties, as well as the impact on continuing professional development and patient continuity of the increasing number of part-time doctors. He recommended that all female medical students read


Lean In, a book written by US businesswoman Sheryl Sandberg, which encourages women to commit wholeheartedly to their profession. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges Council offered a robust defence against the professor’s comments.


average spend more time with their patients than their male colleagues. It also noted that women were much more likely to engage in “patient-centred” interviewing by “actively enlisting patient input, counselling, and exploring larger life-context issues that affect patients’ conditions.” Some patients may also be more comfortable discussing


their conditions and being examined by females – this can happen in specialties such as obstetrics and gynaecology, and may in some cases even be a religious requirement. That said, it would certainly be overly simplistic to say that all women practise medicine in a way that is distinct from (or indeed superior to) men.


“ Women already dominate certain specialties but they continue to be under-represented in senior roles.”


They described his arguments as “profoundly mistaken and


not evidence based” and refuted his claims that “gender imbalance is already having a negative effect on the NHS”. They rejected the suggestion that women in hospital medicine tended to avoid the more demanding specialties because of a lack of commitment. Gender disparity in some specialties was not, they argued, due to “failings” of women but “wider issues relating to structures, culture and behaviours which need to be addressed by the profession as a whole”. The Academy added that the changing nature of the medical


workforce should be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat and opportunities for flexible working were increasingly being sought by both male and female doctors.


Positive qualities So, do male and female doctors have different strengths and weaknesses? It’s often suggested that female doctors bring a softer touch to medicine, with better listening skills and greater empathy. A 2011 article on the US website Medscape (Women MDs spend more time with patients: does it matter?) highlighted research that found female doctors on


Responding to a new era The NHS is not an organisation that is known for adapting rapidly, but it’s clear that the evolving workforce will necessitate some changes. In 2009 the Department of Health published Women doctors: making a difference – report of the Chair of the National Working Group on Medicine. It made several recommendations for healthcare services including improving childcare availability, part-time opportunities, careers advice and mentoring, workforce planning and appointment of champions.


It has also been suggested that improving access to flexible


working for men, including extending paternity cover entitlements, would be another important step towards a more even professional playing field.


Anne Parfitt Rogers is a foundation doctor and editor of FYi


Useful links • The Medical Women’s Foundation – www.medicalwomensfederation.org.uk/


• Dispelling myths at the RCSEng’s Women in Surgery site – tinyurl.com/o6kf3c2


• Women in Psychiatry – tinyurl.com/q3fp355 • The NHS North West Women in Medicine run an annual conference in England – tinyurl.com/obnlqlk


• For inspiration, look no further than the University College London Leaders in Medicine podcasts – tinyurl.com/om2rp3b


• And the adventurous Dr Quinn – www.drquinnmd.com


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