  
Ob/gyn profession in US will be half female by 2012
Last Updated: 2001-05-01 15:57:09 EDT (Reuters Health)
By M. Mary Pennell
CHICAGO (Reuters Health) - The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) reported Tuesday that in a telephone survey of 1000 American women, about half of respondents said they prefer a female obstetrician/gynecologist to a male.
Former ACOG president Dr. Frank C. Miller said at a press conference during the ACOG annual meeting that currently about a third of the nation's 40,000 ob/gyns are women. "But right now about two thirds of ob/gyn residents are women, so by the year 2012 we predict that half of the nation's ob/gyns will be women," said Dr. Miller, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.
He foresees that not long after that, the specialty "will probably be two thirds women."
According to the survey, which was conducted by The Gallup Organization March 9 to 25, younger women are more likely to want a female ob/gyn than women over age 55. The women surveyed were 18 to 65. But Penny Murphy, an ACOG spokesperson, said that regardless of age, "when women want to see an ob/gyn 'now', 'now' is more important than gender." Murphy added that 15% of survey respondents said they prefer a male ob/gyn.
Dr. Owen Montgomery, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, said in an interview with Reuters Health that there will always be a place in obstetrics for male physicians. "I don't discourage males entering medical school from considering ob/gyn."
He said that neither ACOG nor women physicians want "the specialty to become 90% female." In fact, he added, "women physicians have expressed concern about this because that would mean that the specialty was closed to half of the medical students and thus the pool of top students would reduced as well."
Dr. Miller said ACOG asked The Gallup Organization to produce a survey that would serve as a report card for the College as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. He said he was surprised by the very positive responses of the women. For example, 93% said they would recommend their physician to a friend.
The women were asked to rate their physicians using grades A to F, with "F" being a failing grade. Dr. Miller said 65% gave their physicians an A for overall performance and 26% gave them a B. Only 1% gave the doctors a failing grade.
Murphy said that 45% of the women had been seeing the same ob/gyn for at least 5 years. She said that ACOG asked about the duration of the doctor-patient relationship because of concerns that managed care might be forcing women to change physicians. "But we found that women actually are very willing to stay with their physicians, even if it means making sacrifices to do so."
-Westport Newsroom 203 319 2700
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