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In What Types of Communities Do Rural Women Physicians Practice?
Our prior research has shown that the lack of women physicians in rural areas will become an increasingly significant problem as their proportion in the physician workforce expands. Little research exists on strategies to make rural practice a more attractive option for women physicians. This national study involves a secondary analysis of a newly constructed data set that covers all rural places in the U.S. We will identify those rural areas that have attracted or lost a female physician between 1991 and 1996. We will then attempt to describe the types of towns in which women locate and the particular characteristics of towns gaining and losing male and female physicians. This project will be of impor-tance to national and state entities concerned with health personnel planning as well as medical school administrators and programs focused on placing providers in rural practice settings. Further, it will provide information essential for designing more targeted studies.
Publications
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Distribution of Rural Female Generalist Physicians in the United States
Author(s): Mark P Doescher, Kathrine E Ellsbury, Gary L Hart
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 16(2), 111-118
Date: 2000
Female physicians are underrepresented in rural areas. What impact might the increasing proportion of women in medicine have on the rural physician shortage? To begin addressing this question, we present data describing the geographic distribution of female physicians in the United States. We examine the geographic distribution of all active U.S. allopathic physicians recorded in the October 1996 update of the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile. Percentages and numbers of female physicians by professional activity, specialty type, and geographic location are reported. Findings reveal there were fewer than 7,000 female allopathic physicians practicing in rural America in 1996. The proportion of generalist female physicians who practice in rural settings was significantly lower than the proportion who practice in urban locations. Although members of the most recent 10-year medical school graduation cohort of female generalist physicians were slightly more likely to practice in rural areas than members of earlier cohorts, female physicians remained significantly underrepresented in rural areas. States varied dramatically in rural female generalist underrepresentation. Should female generalists continue to be underrepresented in rural locations, the rural physician shortage will not be resolved quickly. Effective strategies to improve rural female physician placement and retention need to be identified and implemented to improve rural access to physician care.
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Gender-Related Factors in the Recruitment of Generalist Physicians to the Rural Northwest
Author(s): Katherine E Ellsbury, Laura-Mae Baldwin, Karin E Johnson, SJ Runyan, L Gary Hart
Report Number: No. 62
Date: 02 / 2001
Examines differences in the factors female and male generalist physicians considered influential in their rural practice location choice and identifies the practice arrangements that attracted female generalist physicians to rural areas. Findings include: women were more likely than men to have been influenced in practice choice by issues related to spouse/personal partner, flexible scheduling, family leave, and availability of childcare; women were more highly influenced by the interpersonal aspects of recruitment; and men and women were equally likely to consider community factors, practice content, practice partner compatibility, and financial issues. Findings indicate that rural communities and practices recruiting physicians should place high priority on practice scheduling, spouse/partner, and interpersonal issues in the recruiting process if they want to achieve a gender-balanced physician workforce.
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Gender-Related Factors in the Recruitment of Generalist Physicians to the Rural Northwest
Author(s): Ellsbury KE, Baldwin LM, Johnson KE, Runyan SJ, Hart LG
Citation: Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, 15(5), 391-400
Date: 09 / 2002
Background: This study examines differences in the factors female and male physicians considered influential in their rural practice location choice and describes the practice arrangements that successfully recruited female physicians to rural areas.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was based on a mailed survey of physicians successfully recruited between 1992 and 1999 to towns of 10,000 or less in six states in the Pacific Northwest.
Results: Responses from 77 men and 37 women (response rate 61%) indicated that women were more likely than men to have been influenced in making their practice choice by issues related to spouse or personal partner, flexible scheduling, family leave, availability of childcare, and the interpersonal aspects of recruitment. Commonly reported themes reflected the respondents' desire for flexibility regarding family issues and the value they placed on honesty during recruitment.
Conclusions: It is very important in recruitment of both men and women to highlight the positive aspects of the community and to involve and assist the physician's spouse or partner. If they want to achieve a gender-balanced physician workforce, rural communities and practices recruiting physicians should place high priority on practice scheduling, spouse-partner, and interpersonal issues in the recruitment process.
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