Specialising in radiology in Switzerland: Still attractive for medical school graduates?

Career in radiology; the ghanaian clinical medical Student's perception

Background

The importance of radiology in this era of evidence-based medicine cannot be disputed. This has resulted in the increase in demand for radiologists. Thus, the issue of whether there would be sufficient numbers of medical students to meet this growing demand needs further probing.

Purpose

To assess Ghanaian clinical medical students' perceptions about a career in radiology.

Materials and methods

This was an online questionnaire-based survey of 575 clinical medical students in five public medical schools in Ghana from September 2020 to February 2021. Student's t-test and one way analysis of variance was used to compare means. For the Likert scale questions, differences in the mean Likert scale responses were assessed among various clinical year groups and across gender using Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U tests. A logistic regression was used to determine the significant predictors of the choice of radiology as a career.

Results

Most 340 (59.1%) of the participants were males. The average age of participants was 24.64 ± 3.084 years. Students agreed that, radiology is relevant in this era of evidence-based medicine (mean Likert score = 4.62, SD = 0.819), which yielded significant responses in the third clinical year (p = 0.004). Nearly 30% of respondents stated they did not receive enough didactic lectures or tutorials in radiology, citing insufficient lectures (89.9%), a lack of lecturers (9.5%), and trouble grasping ideas (0.7%) as their main concerns. 133 (23.1%) stated they would choose radiology as a specialty, with flexible working schedule (61.9%) and high income (68.3%) as their topmost reasons. Less patient contact (8.0%) was the least observed reason. A flexible working schedule increased the choice of radiology as a specialty by 2.319 folds (95% CI: 1.413-3.805, P = 0.001). Teleradiology significantly contributed to the choice of radiology as a career (p = 0.001).

Conclusion

Generally, the clinical students had varied but positive perceptions on radiology as a specialty.

Impact of Mentoring on Academic Career Success for Women in Medicine: A Systematic Review

PURPOSE

Research has shown that barriers to career success in academic medicine disproportionately affect women. These barriers include inadequate mentoring, which may perpetuate the underrepresentation of women in senior leadership positions. The purpose of this review was to summarize the qualitative and quantitative evidence of the impact of mentoring on women's career outcomes and to inform future interventions to support the promotion and retention of women in academic medicine.

METHOD

The authors conducted a systematic review of original research published in English-language, peer-reviewed journals through March 20, 2020. Search terms related to mentorship, women, and academic medicine. The authors searched MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Current Contents Connect via Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO. They excluded studies not specifically addressing women and those without gender-stratified outcomes. They extracted and analyzed the following data: study design, population, sample size, response rate, participant age, percentage of women, mentoring prevalence, and outcomes.

RESULTS

Of 2,439 citations identified, 91 studies met the inclusion criteria, including 65 quantitative and 26 qualitative studies. Mentoring was associated with objective and subjective measures of career success. Women perceived mentorship to be more valuable to their career development yet were more likely to report having no mentor. Additionally, women were more likely to report lower levels of research productivity, less career satisfaction, and greater barriers to promotion. Qualitative results indicated that women had less access to informal mentoring and family responsibilities had a greater effect on their career outcomes. Professional networking, female mentors, and relational aspects of mentoring were common themes.

CONCLUSIONS

This review examined gender disparities in mentoring and the impact on research productivity, promotion success, and career satisfaction for women in academic medicine. Institution-supported mentoring programs are needed to facilitate identification of appropriate mentors and promotion of a more equitable academic career environment for women.

Is Empowerment of Female Radiologists Still Needed? Findings of a Systematic Review

Considering that radiology is still a male-dominated specialty in which men make up more than two thirds of the workforce, this systematic review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the current role of women in radiological imaging, focusing on the main aspects such as career progression, leadership, academic practice, and perceived discrimination. Three electronic databases were searched up to 21 October 2020. To identify additional records, weekly automatic email alerts were set up on PubMed until December 2020 and reference lists of key studies and included papers were screened. Two reviewers independently performed the search, study selection, quality appraisal, data extraction, and formal narrative synthesis. In case of disagreement, a third reviewer was involved. Across the 61 included articles, women worked more often part-time and held fewer positions of power in hospitals, on editorial boards, and at the academic level (associate and full professors). Women were less often in relevant positions in scientific articles, had fewer publications, and had a lower H-index. Discrimination and sexual harassment were experienced by up to 40% and 47% of female radiologists, respectively. Our study highlights that women in radiology are still underrepresented and play a marginal role in the field, struggling to reach top and leading positions.

Gender Disparity in Radiology Society Committees and Leadership in North America and Comparison With Other Continents

PURPOSE

To evaluate gender distribution in radiology professional society leadership positions. Our study intends to assess and compare the gender distribution among leadership roles and professional society committee memberships of the radiology societies and seek an understanding of potential associations between gender, academic research metrics, institutional academic rank, and leadership roles.

METHODS

We identified radiology professional society committee members to assess relative gender composition in 28 radiology societies in North America, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand. The research metrics were obtained from the SCOPUS database and demographics and institutional affiliation through institutional websites' internet searches. Gender distribution by academic ranks and other discontinuous variables were analyzed using the Chi-Square test. Wallis tests.

RESULTS

Of the 3011 members of society committees, 67.9% were male, and 32.1% female. Among all the society members, the data showed that the proportion of committee members holding leadership positions was comparable between males (25.7%) and females (22.5%). However, when we did a subgroup analysis and disaggregated the data by leadership positions, we noted that among those who held the leadership positions, the proportion of males was more significant (n = 526, 70.7%) compared to females (n = 218, 29.3%). Overall, males had higher median publications, citations, H-indices, and active years of research (P< 0.0001). At all university academic ranks, men outnumbered females (P = 0.0015, Chi-square 15.38), with the most considerable disparity at the rank of professor (71.9% male, 28.1% female, P = 0.0003).

CONCLUSION

There was male predominance amongst committee members in radiology societies. Our study found no significant differences between those in leadership positions, suggesting that once a member of a committee, females are equally likely as males to attain leadership positions. Analysis of committee members' academic rank and committee leaders demonstrated underrepresentation of females at higher academic ranks, and males overall had higher research metrics than females.

The Influence of Gender on the Choice of Radiology as a Specialty Among Medical Students in Saudi Arabia: Cross-Sectional Study

Background

Medical undergraduates are the future doctors of the country. Therefore, determining how medical students choose their areas of specialty is essential to obtain a balanced distribution of physicians among all specialties. Although gender is a significant factor that affects specialty choice, the factors underlying gender differences in radiology are not fully elucidated.

Objective

This study examined the factors that attracted medical students to and discouraged them from selecting diagnostic radiology and analyzed whether these factors differed between female and male medical students.

Methods

This cross-sectional study conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, used an electronic questionnaire sent to medical students from all medical years during February 2018. Subgroup analyses for gender and radiology interest were performed using the chi-square test and Cramér’s V test.

Results

In total, 539 students (276 women; 263 men) responded. The most common factor preventing students from choosing radiology as a career was the lack of direct patient contact, which deterred approximately 47% who decided against considering this specialty. Negative perceptions by other physicians (P<.001), lack of acknowledgment by patients (P=.004), and lack of structured radiology rotations (P=.007) dissuaded significantly more male students than female students. Among those interested in radiology, more female students were attracted by job flexibility (P=.01), while more male students were attracted by focused patient interactions with minimal paperwork (P<.001).

Conclusions

No significant difference was found between the genders in terms of considering radiology as a specialty. Misconception plays a central role in students’ judgment regarding radiology. Hence, early exposure to radiology, assuming a new teaching method, and using a curriculum that supports the active participation of students in a radiology rotation are needed to overcome this misconception.

Choice of the specialty of diagnostic radiology by results of the competitive examination to assign residency positions from 2006 to 2015

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the profile of residency candidates choosing the specialty of diagnostic radiology in function of variables related to the positions available in different years.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We compiled the data published on the Spanish Ministry of Health's website during the acts celebrated to allow residency candidates to choose positions based on the results of the competitive examinations held from 2006 to 2015, comparing the specialty of diagnostic radiology with the other specialties available in terms of positions available, net questions, sex, nationality, and order of choice of the position.

RESULTS

The specialty of diagnostic radiology occupied the 16^th position in the ranking of specialties according to the median number of order in the choice for each of the positions offered in the years studied. The first diagnostic radiology residency position was usually assigned after 75 candidates had chosen other specialties, and the last position was usually assigned after 3700 to 4100 candidates had chosen their positions. During the period studied, of those who chose diagnostic radiology 58% were women and 76% were Spanish nationality. Candidates preferred hospitals in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, and the hospital chosen with the lowest median position (highest score on the competitive examination) was the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona.

CONCLUSIONS

Diagnostic radiology is chosen by candidates with good positioning in the ranking according to official examination results, is less likely than other specialties to be chosen by women, and is chosen mostly by Spanish physicians. Candidates prefer large hospitals in provincial capitals.

Pilot study on doctors working in departments of forensic medicine in German-speaking areas

Several directors of institutes of forensic and legal medicine in German-speaking areas have noticed a lack of young doctors with specialty qualifications (full board certification) in forensic medicine during recent years. The pilot study was intended to brainstorm the possible reasons for this shortage, by carrying out a survey of doctors working in departments of forensic medicine, paying particular attention to job satisfaction and opinions as to why there are fewer forensic specialists. We sent the link to an online questionnaire to all members of the societies of forensic medicine in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Altogether, 129 respondents completed the questionnaire and were included in the study. Slightly more men than women replied; the mean age of all respondents was 41. Most respondents had completed their specialty training and worked full-time. In general, participants were moderately satisfied with their careers. Men reported greater career success than women, as determined by objective criteria. Career support was considered to be suboptimal. For most of the respondents, the level of enjoyment of working in forensic medicine was either higher than or approximately the same as the level recalled from five years earlier. Possible reasons for the lack of qualified doctors in forensic medicine institutes are the non-availability of both senior posts and specialty training posts. Career opportunities in forensic medicine are not considered to be attractive.