Perceptions of freshman medical students of gender differences in medical specialty choice.

At present, it is not clear whether or not the choices of specialty areas by male and female medical students are converging. Historically, women have selected specialty areas with high patient contact. In the study reported here, the authors address whether or not there are differences in perceived specialty choice among the newest entrants into medicine. A total of 180 freshman medical students at one medical school (120 males and 60 females) participated. It was found that 70.4 percent of the women stated that they expected to select a specialty in primary care compared with only 44.4 percent of the men. On the other hand, 30.8 percent of the men expected to enter a surgical specialty area compared with only 11.1 percent of the women. A higher proportion of women than of men indicated that patient contact and family life were instrumental in the selection of a medical specialty. Seventy percent of the men expected an annual income of more than +75,000 (in 1984 dollars) compared with 43.3 percent of the women, who generally expected a smaller income. The authors in this study found that the traditional identifications of both male and female specialty choices are not changing.