Gender impact in competitive fellowships

[blue.jay]

Not sure if it's a myth or truth. I have heard due to low % of women in certain competitive specialities like cardiology, GI and critical care, their societies are pushing for more gender parity in fellowship programs.

Is it true that a male candidate should have better credentials (higher scores, more research) than a comparable female candidate to be considered for an interview/ranking?

For eg,
IMG/visa/community residency/women/no research >>> IMG/visa/community program/men/few research or posters

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[Prehealth1011]

A Ob program director straight up told me “we’re trying to recruit more guys this year to increase males in the field”. Didn’t realize this kinda thing exists in other fields as well.

 

[DrMetal]

Not sure if it's a myth or truth. I have heard due to low % of women in certain competitive specialities like cardiology, GI and critical care, their societies are pushing for more gender parity in fellowship programs.

Is it true that a male candidate should have better credentials (higher scores, more research) than a comparable female candidate to be considered for an interview/ranking?

For eg,
IMG/visa/community residency/women/no research >>> IMG/visa/community program/men/few research or posters

I doubt that you could prove it, but I wouldn't be surprised if the bias exists. How disadvantaging an applicant because he is male is not considered sexist, is beyond me.

A Ob program director straight up told me “we’re trying to recruit more guys this year to increase males in the field”. Didn’t realize this kinda thing exists in other fields as well.

Yeah, good luck with that. Any male physician in that field has a media microscope on him now, thank you USC and USA gymnastics. No thanks. My pelvic exam is a CT A/P, with contrast.

 

[disorder]

Yes, I get a sense these specialties are seeking gender parity. Medicine is unkind to women, in general, because of cultural/societal/biological expectations. Thus, there's disparity.

That being said, I think programs are seeking the best possible candidate- male or female.

 

[blue.jay]

I doubt that you could prove it, but I wouldn't be surprised if the bias exists. How disadvantaging an applicant because he is male is not considered sexist, is beyond me.



Yeah, good luck with that. Any male physician in that field has a media microscope on him now, thank you USC and USA gymnastics. No thanks. My pelvic exam is a CT A/P, with contrast.

SCCM | Women in Critical Care Medicine

This article addresses the issue of gender disparity in critical care.

www.sccm.org

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[blue.jay]

Yes, I get a sense these specialties are seeking gender parity. Medicine is unkind to women, in general, because of cultural/societal/biological expectations. Thus, there's disparity.

That being said, I think programs are seeking the best possible candidate- male or female.

Some women arent willingly interested in sacrificing their family lives for a speciality. Some unfortunately aren't treated equal in male predominant speciality. Most women prefer specialities with good work life balance - peds, Endo, rheum are predominantly women.
Women are good educators, good listeners and good caregivers probably they don't fancy the money from these specialities if it can compromise their family life. Some are passionate and become great leaders. It's a good and nice change to have diversity in work place.
I am just trying to get an idea what my chances would be for competitive fellowship, as I'm hearing if a similarly qualified IMG women gets a spot in these specialities it doesn't mean I have an equal chance. Being a IMG male on visa gives 3 strikes for me.

 

[disorder]

Some women arent willingly interested in sacrificing their family lives for a speciality. Some unfortunately aren't treated equal in male predominant speciality. Most women prefer specialities with good work life balance - peds, Endo, rheum are predominantly women.
Women are good educators, good listeners and good caregivers probably they don't fancy the money from these specialities if it can compromise their family life. Some are passionate and become great leaders. It's a good and nice change to have diversity in work place.
I am just trying to get an idea what my chances would be for competitive fellowship, as I'm hearing if a similarly qualified IMG women gets a spot in these specialities it doesn't mean I have an equal chance. Being a IMG male on visa gives 3 strikes for me.

Why worry about it? Does it change whether you apply? It would seem to be a silly thing to worry about. It's an un-answerable "what if?". You can't modify being an IMG, a male, or on a VISA.

So, if you're interested in these specialties, then work your hardest towards it and apply knowing that there may be some programs out there that may prefer a female candidate with "greater", "equal", or "lesser" credentials than you.

 

[Lexdiamondz]

I mean if you fail to match a competitive fellowship, being a dude isn't going to be the nail in the coffin.

You're an IMG who needs a visa - you have wayyyyyy bigger obstacles than your genitalia.

 

[blue.jay]

I mean if you fail to match a competitive fellowship, being a dude isn't going to be the nail in the coffin.

You're an IMG who needs a visa - you have wayyyyyy bigger obstacles than your genitalia.

That's true, my genitalia is just an icing on the cake.

 

[deleted480308]

Some women arent willingly interested in sacrificing their family lives for a speciality. Some unfortunately aren't treated equal in male predominant speciality. Most women prefer specialities with good work life balance - peds, Endo, rheum are predominantly women.
Women are good educators, good listeners and good caregivers probably they don't fancy the money from these specialities if it can compromise their family life. Some are passionate and become great leaders. It's a good and nice change to have diversity in work place.
I am just trying to get an idea what my chances would be for competitive fellowship, as I'm hearing if a similarly qualified IMG women gets a spot in these specialities it doesn't mean I have an equal chance. Being a IMG male on visa gives 3 strikes for me.

You make a lot of really odd generalizations in this post, my general advice is don’t repeat that often in person

 

[nola2016]

At one of the fellowship programs I'm applying to, the trend is strongly 2:1 for female:male in their fellows for 1st and 2nd years. They actively are trying to recruit as such