The Ladies are Leaving.

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A friend shared an interesting article with me. It’s called Sex Differences in Physician Attrition from Clinical Practice Across Specialties: A Nationwide, Longitudinal Analysis.

The graph caught my eye. It looked similar to the physician/administrator graph.

This however, is something very different, yet equally alarming.
The article studied attrition of 700k+ physicians over a decade of practice.
The authors found the following:

Women are more likely to leave medicine at every age, across all specialties and practice
locations. They leave medical practice years earlier than their male counterparts.

The ladies are leaving.
DAMN. That is NOT GOOD NEWS.

The reasons for this are numerous.
We all know the common life events that contribute:
Childbearing, family demands, caretaking of elderly parents.
But don’t under-estimate the medical system’s contributions:
Unequal pay, work more hours for less pay, unpaid work hours from home, the emotional toll of
medicine, work-life imbalance, burnout, the list goes on & on.

We can’t let this trend continue. Medicine needs women physicians.
But what can we do? How do we keep female doctors practicing longer?
Oh, I know. I know. Invite them to be a part of DIRECT CARE.
Direct primary care. Direct pediatric care. Direct speciality care.
Keep them practicing!
They would find more flexibility, fair pay, a better work-life balance & the even a renewed sense
of purpose.

Ladies, please don’t leave!
Medicine needs you.

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About Amy Walsh, MD

Family always comes first: I am married to Whitey and can't imagine life without him. I have 4 great kids who screw up from time to time; but they are still pretty damn cool. Dog mom to 2 yellow labs who are exhausting and messy, but we love them. Happy DPC doctor since 2015 as the system wore me down and made me miserable. Luckily I found DPC. I found “my people” and never looked back. DPC was my best career decision without a doubt. Former varsity gymnast at the University of Michigan: I refer to those years as my “first life.” I learned about hard work, goal setting, and most importantly the value of true friendship. Hey, did you know UM gymnastics won NCAA Natty in 2021. Such a proud moment.Go Blue! Have been accused of being Type A, OCD, perfectionist, competitive. I may agree with most of those, but prefer words like focused, determined and committed. See? I have learned to use those all to my advantage.