Gender differences in career dissatisfaction among Pennsylvanian physicians

Abstract

Objective: The physician workforce is quickly changing from one that was once male dominated to one that is more gender equal. The relationship between being female and physician career satisfaction is unclear despite a large body of research on the subject. I analyze the relationship between gender, career dissatisfaction, and plans to leave patient care. Female-male differences are calculated for various demographic, specialty, and practice setting subgroups of physicians; particular attention is paid to how various factors interact with gender.
Methods: Data comes from the 2012 Pennsylvania Health Workforce Survey of Physicians. I use multivariate, logistic regression to estimate associations between a number of covariates, including gender, and two outcomes: (1) career dissatisfaction, and (2) plans to leave patient care.
Results: Female physicians have 12% lower odds than males of reporting career dissatisfaction but no statistically significant difference in plans to leave patient care. Practicing in a hospital setting and in a rural county is associated with higher odds of dissatisfaction among male physicians but lower dissatisfaction among female physicians. Although female physicians own their practice at much lower rates, female owners have much lower odds of planning to leave patient care.
Conclusions: Factors associated with career dissatisfaction and plans to leave patient care affect male and female physicians differently, across race, rural practice, specialty, and practice ownership. Policy and research related to physician retention and quality of care should consider the interaction between gender and these factors in the future.