Comparison of the Productivity of Women and Men Physicians

Generational Differences in Practice Patterns of Dermatologists in the United States

“…[26][27][28][29] However, in studies in which women's productivity is lower than men's, the difference has been attributed to women spending more time with each patient [30][31][32] or increased complexity of visit content. 4 Additional research is needed to better address questions relating to the interaction of physician sex with length of career, [33][34][35][36] career interruptions, 36,37 hours spent performing other forms of work (eg, domestic activities), 36,38 parenting status, 30,33,[37][38][39] and other measures of productivity. 4,25 Another influence on physician productivity was the type of practice.…”

The Work-Family Role System and Physician Productivity

“…A long history of research shows that female physicians devote less time than male physicians to professional work and produce fewer units of patient services (Dykman and Stalnaker 1957;Shapiro, Stibler, Zelkovic, and Mausner 1968;Powers, Parmelle, and Wiesenfelder 1969;Heins, Smock, Martindale, Jacobs, and Stein 1977;Mitchell 1984;Butter, Carpenter, Kay, and Simmons 1985). Some observers use this evidence to argue that projections of an oversupply of physicians in 1990 (Graduate Medical Education National Advisory Committee 1980) overstate the surplus by not taking into account the generally lower productivity of female physicians and their increasing representation in the profession (Starr 1982;Lanska, Lanska, and Rimm 1984).…”

Foreign medical graduates and U.S. physician supply: old issues and new questions

“…If, as some studies report, female physicians work on average fewer hours per week and fewer weeks per year than male physicians (at least a partial result of child rearing responsibilities not having been assumed by men [23]), then the overall productivity at a given moment of the women would be somewhat lower than if all physicians had been men [24]. To be more precise, in an earlier study of 87 female and 95 male physicians in the Detroit area, Heins, Smock, Martindale, Jacobs, and Stein reported that female physicians spent about 90% as much time in medicine as did male physicians [25]. A 10% difference means that about 111 female physicians would be required to supply the services of 100 male physicians.…”