The impact of parenthood on residency

With women comprising one-half of medical school graduates, two recent studies examined the experience that residents have when they decide to become parents during training. Find out how common parenthood is and how it impacts men versus women. Deciding when to have children Two recent investigations into parenthood during training found that residents are concerned about how having a child will impact their training and how their skills and work ethic will be perceived. But the studies showed women who become pregnant are more often impacted than men who become fathers during residency. With residents spending the prime of their reproductive years in training and more women going into medicine, a study in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology looked at how parenthood impacted radiation oncology residents and a second study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons explored general surgery residents’ experiences. Among the 190 radiation oncology trainees who responded to a survey, slightly more than one-half had children. Nearly 45 percent said they or their partner had a pregnancy during residency, while 50.5 percent of respondents said they delayed or were delaying having children because of residency demands. And parental leave is a common occurrence among general surgery residents. In the study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 41 percent of the 66 general surgery residency program directors who respond...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news