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Perera S, Aslam A, Burgess S, Castles AV, Segan L, Mukherjee S, Beale AL, Gutman SJ, Biswas S, Leet A, Zaman S. Gender Differences in Medical Student Perceptions of a Career in Cardiology. Heart Lung Circ 2023; 32:1250-1256. [PMID: 37414678 DOI: 10.1016/j.hlc.2023.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Worldwide, the cardiology profession has an under-representation of women. We assessed medical students' perceptions of cardiology as a career choice with the aim of identifying barriers to gender diversity. METHOD An anonymous survey was distributed to medical students studying at three Australian medical universities. Questions pertained to demographics, year and stage of medical training, desire to pursue cardiology, and perceived barriers to a cardiology career. Results were analysed according to identified gender and desire to pursue or not pursue a cardiology career. Multivariable logistic regression evaluated for independent associations. The primary outcome were barriers identified to pursuing a career in cardiology. RESULTS From 127 medical student respondents (86.6% female, mean age 25.9±4.8 years), 37.0% stated they wanted to pursue a career in cardiology (39.1% of women versus 23.5% of men, p=0.54). The top four perceived barriers to a cardiology career included: poor work-life balance (92/127, 72.4%), physician training process (63/127, 49.6%), on-call requirements (50/127, 39.4%) and lack of flexibility (49/127, 38.6%), with no gender differences. Women were more likely to report gender-related barriers (37.3% versus 5.9%, p=0.01) and less likely to identify procedural aspects as a barrier (5.5% women versus 29.4% men, p=0.001). Students in their pre-clinical years were more likely to want a career in cardiology (odds ratio 3.0, 95% confidence interval 1.2-7.7, p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS A high proportion of female and male medical students want to pursue a career in cardiology with both genders identifying major barriers of poor work-life balance, lack of flexibility, on-call requirements and the training process.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anum Aslam
- Monash Health, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; Western Health, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
| | - Sonya Burgess
- Department of Medicine, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Department of Cardiology, Nepean Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Anastasia Vlachadis Castles
- Department of Cardiology, The Northern Hospital, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; Austin Clinical School, Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
| | - Louise Segan
- Department of Cardiology, Barwon Health, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; Clinical Research, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
| | - Swati Mukherjee
- Department of Cardiology, Cabrini Health, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
| | - Anna L Beale
- Monash Health, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; Heart Failure Research Group, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; Department of Cardiology, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
| | - Sarah J Gutman
- Monash Health, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; Clinical Research, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; Department of Cardiology, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
| | - Sinjini Biswas
- Department of Cardiology, Cabrini Health, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; Department of Cardiology, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
| | - Angeline Leet
- Department of Cardiology, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
| | - Sarah Zaman
- School of Clinical Sciences Monash Health, Monash Cardiovascular Research Centre, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; Department of Cardiology, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Westmead Applied Research Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
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Nishizaki F, Shimbo M, Fukue N, Matsumoto C, Noma S, Ohno-Urabe S, Kamiya CA, Kanki S, Ide T, Izawa H, Taniguchi T, Nakayama A, Kobayashi Y. National Survey Identifying the Factors Affecting the Career Development of Cardiologists in Japan. Circ J 2023; 87:1219-1228. [PMID: 37380440 DOI: 10.1253/circj.cj-23-0063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Equality in training opportunities, studying abroad, and satisfaction with work are not well investigated among Japanese cardiologists. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied cardiologists' career development using a questionnaire that was emailed to 14,798 cardiologists belonging to the Japanese Circulation Society (JCS) in September 2022. Feelings regarding equality in training opportunities, preferences for studying abroad, and satisfaction with work were evaluated with regard to cardiologists' age, sex, and other confounding factors. Survey responses were obtained from 2,566 cardiologists (17.3%). The mean (±SD) age of female (n=624) and male (n=1,942) cardiologists who responded to the survey was 45.6±9.5 and 50.0±10.6 years, respectively. Inequality in training opportunities was felt more by female than male cardiologists (44.1% vs. 33.9%) and by younger (<45 years old) than older (≥45 years old) (42.0% vs. 32.8%). Female cardiologists were less likely to prefer studying abroad (53.7% vs. 59.9%) and less satisfied with their work (71.3% vs. 80.8%) than male cardiologists. Increased feelings of inequality and lower work satisfaction were investigated among cardiologists who were young, had family care duties, and had no mentors. In the subanalysis, significant regional differences were found in cardiologists' career development in Japan. CONCLUSIONS Female and younger cardiologists felt greater inequality in career development than male and older cardiologists. A diverse workplace may prompt equality in training opportunities and work satisfaction for both female and male cardiologists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fumie Nishizaki
- Department of Cardiology, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine
| | - Mai Shimbo
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Tokyo
- Department of Computational Diagnostic Radiology and Preventive Medicine, The University of Tokyo
| | - Noriko Fukue
- Department of Cardiology, Medical Corporation Koutokukai Mitajiri Hospital
| | - Chisa Matsumoto
- Department of Cardiology, Tokyo Medical University Hospital
- Center for Health Surveillance and Preventive Medicine, Tokyo Medical University Hospital
| | - Satsuki Noma
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nippon Medical School
| | | | - Chizuko A Kamiya
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center
| | - Sachiko Kanki
- Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University
| | - Tomomi Ide
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University
| | - Hideo Izawa
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Fujita Health University
| | - Tatsunori Taniguchi
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine
| | - Atsuko Nakayama
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Tokyo
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Sakakibara Heart Institute
| | - Yoshio Kobayashi
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine
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Balinda IG, Reza N. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Training. Methodist Debakey Cardiovasc J 2022; 18:67-77. [PMID: 35734148 PMCID: PMC9165678 DOI: 10.14797/mdcvj.1080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Diversity in the healthcare workforce enhances access to care, reduces health disparities, and improves quality of care for underserved populations. Yet there is a paucity of women and underrepresented minority physicians in cardiology training programs, and progress toward achieving a diverse cardiology workforce has been slow. Here we review the merits of diversity in health care, the current landscape of the cardiology workforce, barriers to increasing the proportion of women and underrepresented minority cardiologists, and specific strategies that have been proposed to sustain and enhance diversity in cardiology training programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ingabire Grace Balinda
- Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
| | - Nosheen Reza
- Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
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