Parting Ways: Gender Differences in Medical Career Aspirations Among Early Career Premedical Students

• In Event: 3176 - Sociology of Medical Education

Abstract

Despite women’s greater propensity to enter college with medical career aspirations, they are considerably less likely than men to either apply, or gain admission, to medical schools in the United States. Using longitudinal survey data collected from first and second year students at a large flagship state institution (n=284), results from this study indicate that men and women experience the premedical track in strikingly different ways. Women experience more stress about premedical grades, report less positive premedical interactions, and express less optimism about their likelihood of medical school admission. Among these factors, women’s less positive evaluations of their premedical coursework and greater perceptions of unfairness in medical school admissions contribute most substantially to declines in medical career interest over time. Qualitative data collected from a subset of respondents (n=39) reveal that a portion of women’s declining interest in medicine may be attributed to discouraging interactions with faculty members, and a tendency to view poor grades as a referendum for their continued pursuit of a career in medicine. Interview data also point to a critical factor for women’s sustained medical career interest: clinical experiences. Results have direct implications for programmatic actions aimed at supporting women on the premedical career path.

Author

• Matthew K. Grace, Hamilton College