Celebrating Women Physicians

February 3^rd is National Women Physicians Day, a day to celebrate women in medicine for their contributions, sacrifices and how women have shaped medicine.

Fellow women physicians, look at yourself. Celebrate you. Celebrate who you have become and what you have done so far. Celebrate all your achievements in medicine.

Celebrate how you shine despite working in an environment with gender bias. For years, many of us are addressed as “Nurse, could you…” while walking by a patient’s room or about to introduce yourself to the patient. There is no disrespect to the nurses here. The assumption that the male counterpart is a nurse is much less likely to happen. We have all heard of stories about women physicians being passed for a leadership position.

A study showed that female primary care physicians spend 20% more time in the electronic health record (EHR) in-basket tasks and 22% more time on patient documentation than their male counterparts¹. In addition, female physicians receive 24% more messages from staff and 26% more messages from patients than their male colleagues. This means that female physicians are as efficient, if not a little more efficient, than the male physicians. Patients, both male and female, seem to be more open to disclose more health information to the female physicians. This means that female physicians also spend more time and energy with each patient encounter. Female physicians carry a heavier workload.

It is not surprising for more female physicians to experience burnout. Even with all these, many women physicians manage to take care of their patients well and finish work at a decent hour. After they go home, many still have another job to do – to be a wife, a mother, a daughter, or all of the above. In many households, the woman is still the main figure to manage the housework, to take care of the children and/or the parents, to manage everyone’s schedule. Where and when is Johnny playing soccer? Or when does Leila have a doctor’s appointment? Ask mom, who is the full-time physician and full-time domestic manager.

It is so important to have the ability to keep calm. With everyone’s chaotic schedule, you come up with a way that works. Your creativity goes beyond tailoring treatment for each patient’s individual needs. You come up with ways to make sure the lives of your parents, your in-laws, your spouse and your children are all coordinated.

You, the female physician, learn and adapt. You ask for help. You prioritize to make your life work. You embrace the imperfect you even though you want to be perfect. You become the master of delegation both at work and at home. If you do not think you have honed in that skill, you are on the way there.

Against all the adversities and challenges, women physicians are doing their best to live in harmony with all their roles and responsibilities. Women physicians are gradually holding more leadership positions. The more we are in leadership, the bigger the impact we can make in healthcare. There is more hope in narrowing the gender gap in leadership, pay and work hours.

Fellow women physicians, take the time to celebrate you. Celebrate who you are. Celebrate what we have accomplished. Yes, there is still a lot of work to do. Together we make changes. Together we provide better patient care. Together we can find more joy in medicine.

1. Rittenberg, E., Liebman, J.B. & Rexrode, K.M. Primary Care Physician Gender and Electronic Health Record Workload. J GEN INTERN MED37, 3295–3301 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-021-07298-z