Women in Podiatry and Medicine

Licencia parental durante la educación y la práctica en medicina: 35 años de análisis bibliométrico

Objetivos La cantidad de mujeres en especialidades médico-quirúrgicas ha aumentado. Para nuestro conocimiento, no existen políticas que reglamenten las licencias parentales en nuestro país, que permitan a las mujeres que se desempeñan en esas especialidades vivir dicho periodo digna y equiparablemente con quienes han elegido otras carreras. Nuestro objetivo, es evaluar las publicaciones con respecto a la regulación y al apoyo a los procesos de maternidad y lactancia de los médicos.

Metodos Se realizó una revisión de la literatura, de los últimos 35 años en Medline a través de Fabumed, PubReminer y Scopus, utilizando los términos Mesh: “parental leave” y “physicians”. Se incluyeron todas las publicaciones sobre licencia de maternidad en médicos, de 1984 a 2019. Se hizo un análisis bibliométrico descriptivo retrospectivo de dichos artículos y un análisis de mapeo bibliométrico utilizando el programa de software: VOSviewer. Se realizó un análisis estadístico descriptivo de los datos obtenidos.

Resultados Encontramos 182 publicaciones desde 1984 hasta 2019. Detectamos dos picos de publicación, en los años 1992 y 2018. El 39,6% de las publicaciones está concentrado en 20 revistas, nueve con factor de impacto mayor a 3. La mayoría de las publicaciones (85%) se encontraron en inglés y se originaron en 12 países.

Conclusiones Aún no hay suficientes publicaciones para generar consenso en cuanto a aspectos relacionados con la reglamentación de la licencia de maternidad y lactancia en cirujanas. La estandarización de políticas, optimiza el ejercicio de la especialidad al mejorar el grado de satisfacción de los involucrados.

Perceived stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms among anaesthesia and intensive care residents: A French national survey

BACKGROUND

Mental health and well-being is a significant problem for medical students in training. In this study, we aim to estimate the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms, burnout and psychosocial distress in French anaesthesia and intensive care residents.

METHODS

A national online observational study used validated questionnaires (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and work-related questions (work-hours per week, night shift per month, safety rest after night shift, average time to start and end work, break time and time for lunch) to assess mental health and well-being of French residents in anaesthesia and intensive care.

RESULTS

We obtained 519 answers (22.5% of 2302 students), 55% of respondents working in anaesthesia, 41% in intensive care at the time of study. Residents describe certain symptomatology in anxiety (19.8%) and depressive symptoms (7.8%). PSS identifies a perceived high stress (score > 27) for 55.7% of the subjects. The CBI questionnaire identifies 205 (38.9%) residents undergoing burnout, 80.7% working more than 48 h per week and 39.1% more than 60 h. The duration of work per week (> 50 h), gender (female) and on-going training in intensive care are independent risk factors of psychological suffering. Lifestyle and level of training are not statistically identified risk factors.

CONCLUSION

This first online survey of French anaesthesia and intensive care residents reveals a significant frequency of anxiety and depressive symptoms, burnout and a link to potential targets of improvement in work conditions mainly related to the number of work hours per week.

The current status of gender equity in medicine in Korea: an online survey about perceived gender discrimination

BACKGROUND

Although the number of women doctors has increased in South Korea, and efforts to improve gender awareness have gained importance in recent years, the issue of gender equity in the medical field has not been fully evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine the current status of gender equity in the medical profession in Korea.

METHODS

An online survey on perceived gender discrimination was conducted for 2 months, with both men and women doctors participating. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

A total of 1170 doctors responded to the survey (9.2% response rate). The survey found that 47.3% of the women respondents and 18.2% of the men had experienced gender discrimination in the resident selection process (P < 0.05), 17.2% of the women and 8.7% of the men had experienced discrimination during the fellowship application process (P < 0.05), and 36.2% of the women and 8.0% of the men had experienced discrimination during the professorship application process (P < 0.05). Both men and women cited the issue of childbirth and parenting as the number one cause of gender discrimination against women doctors.

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed the presence of perceived gender discrimination in the Korean medical society. To address discrimination, a basic approach is necessary to change the working environment so that it is flexible for women doctors, and to change the current culture where the burden of family care, including pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare, is the primary responsibility of women.

Gender imbalance in executive management positions at the Mexican National Institutes of Health

BACKGROUND

Around the world, there is a significant difference in the proportion of women with access to leadership in healthcare with respect to men. This article studies gender imbalance and wage gap in managerial, executive, and directive job positions at the Mexican National Institutes of Health.

METHODS

Cohort data were described using a visual circular representation and modeled using a generalized linear model. Analysis of variance was used to assess model significance, and posterior Fisher's least significant differences were analyzed when appropriate.

RESULTS

This study demonstrated that there is a gender imbalance distribution among the hierarchical position at the Mexican National Health Institutes and also exposed that the wage gap exists mainly in the (highest or lowest) ranks in hierarchical order.

CONCLUSIONS

Since the majority of the healthcare workforce is female, Mexican women are still underrepresented in executive and directive management positions at national healthcare organizations.