Gender Disparity in the Medical Speciality of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Background: The actual question on the health care system worldwide is a gender inequity in some specialties. In spite of different influencing factors for choosing their specialty by medical students and residents, the recent research studies show that gender is significantly influencing their specialty. Especially gender disparity or inequity is mostly seen in the field of Obstetrics and gynecology. Aim: The purpose of our study is to understand the actual problems faced by male specialists in the field of obstetrics and gynecology in the health care system and to understand how it affects the nation’s health care system, and to analyze the possible solutions. Materials and Methods: The research consists of 815 respondents, which includes medical students, obstetricians and gynecologists and ObsGyn patients. The average age of the respondents was 20 - 50 years. They were divided into three groups. The questionnaire consists of 15 different questions for each group of people in different languages. Results: The significant difference about the future plan towards choosing the specialty of ObsGyn was less among male respondents with 4%, whereas female respondents account for 69% (P<0.001). The main reason for women to choose ObsGyn specialty was to be comfortable in the field (43%). On the other hand, male respondents did not choose ObsGyn specialty because of the limited scope for male specialists in this field (37%) and 51 % of them were not sure about the availability of patients. There is a direct proportion between patients age and wish to visit male consultants, and indirect proportion between patients age and wish to visit the female consultants. Conclusion: Less number of male specialists in the obstetrics and gynecology field does not mean that the male students and residents have no interest in obstetrics and gynecology, but they are concerned about employment, patient’s availability and scope in the field. By including male and female specialists equally in this field, we can improve the quality in the preservation of reproductive health, women’s health and significant changes in crude and specific demographic indices. Making proper awareness and explaining about the current reality could be the best possible solution for this issue. The interpersonal style and communication skills should be the most important traits in physicians rather than gender.