Previous studies found that, in academic medicine, women comprise only 39 percent of full-time faculty and 22 percent of full-time professors. They are also significantly underrepresented in hospital leadership positions.
A new study led by Carrie Herkze, an assistant professor of medicine and associate vice chair for clinical affairs in the department of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, finds that women are significantly underrepresented in leadership positions in academic hospital medicine programs.
Hospital medicine as a dedicated medical specialty is a relatively young field. “Hospitalists” who are trained in internal medicine and focus their work on hospitalized patients rather than outpatient settings have only existed for about two decades. Due to how new the field is, some had speculated it may have fewer gender imbalances than more established fields of medicine.
But the survey found that 79 percent of academic hospital medicine programs are run by men. And male hospitalist leaders are more likely to have attained the rank of full professor than women leaders.
Dr. Herkze earned her medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical College of Virginia. She completed her residency at the Duke University School of Medicine.
The full study, “Gender Issues in Academic Hospital Medicine: A National Survey of Hospitalist Leaders,” was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. It may be accessed here.