Significance of gender in the attitude towards doctor-patient communication in medical students and physicians

Abstract

SummaryBackgroundGender-specific differences in the attitudes towards doctor-patient communication among medical students and physicians were assessed.MethodsA total of 150 medical students and 51 physicians from different departments took part in the study. The association, attitude and experiences regarding doctor-patient communication were assessed with a series of tools and questionnaires.ResultsFemale doctors and students tended to describe the doctor-patient communication with positive attributes, such as “helpful”, “sentimental”, “voluble”, “sociable”, “gentle”, “yielding” and “peaceful”. Male students and physicians, on the other hand, described doctor-patient communication as “overbearing”, “robust” and “inhibited”. The most frequent associations females had with the term doctor-patient communication were “empathy”, “confidence”, “openess”, while the most frequent association of the male colleagues was “medical history”. Female doctors reported speaking about the psychosocial situation of the patient significantly more often and believed in higher patient satisfaction by sharing more information. Furthermore, they reported having longer conversations with a more equal partnership than their male colleagues. Compared to male students, female students were willing to take part in training their communication skills more often and had more interest in research about doctor-patient communication. Male medical students reported self-doubt during conversations with female patients, while one third of the male physicians talked about “the power over the patient”.ConclusionsThis study indicates a gender-dependent communication style influenced by stereotypes. At the establishment of communication training these differences should be taken into account, especially to strengthen male communication skills and improve their attitudes.

Development of a CanMEDS-based instrument for evaluating medical students’ perceptions of the key competencies of a socially accountable healthcare practitioner

“…Communication was also better appreciated by women students in our study. This finding is similar to previous studies showing that women physicians have more positive and appreciative attitudes towards communication and communication skills and demonstrate greater patient care [47,48]. Similarly the gender differences in leadership and professionalism are also supported by other studies which show that women value professionalism and learning about ethics more than men [49].…”

Let us integrate sexual health—do psychiatrists integrate sexual health in patient management?

“…Other reasons mentioned were "age", religion, and culture of the patient. In several other studies, physicians reported gender or culture differences between doctor and patient as a source of difficulty in Sexual History Taking (Burd et al 2006;Löffler-Stastka et al 2016;Temple-Smith et al 1996) which was confirmed by this survey, too.…”

Does medical students’ personality have an impact on their intention to show empathic behavior?

“…However, literature shows differences in actual behavior. Female students and physicians on average have longer conversations with patients (Roter et al 1997; Bylund et al 2008; Löffler-Stastka et al 2016) and include the psychosocial situation of the patient more often (Roter et al 1997; Löffler-Stastka et al 2016) compared to male colleagues. Additionally, women show a stronger non-verbal communication style (Roter et al 1997; Bylund et al 2008).…”