Katherine Butler
Does Gender Still Matter?: Women Physicians' Self-Reported Medical Education Experiences
The Women’s Health Movement, which grew out of the Second Wave feminist movements of the 1960s and 70s, worked to call attention to gender bias and discrimination in medical training in the United States. Two interrelated problems were identified. First, women were under-represented both as students and faculty in medical schools. Second, the curriculum was overwhelmingly centered on men. In order to address these issues many medical schools developed programs to recruit women, which has led to a substantial increase in the number of women attending U.S. medical schools (Shreier et al., 2007). However, simply increasing women’s participation has not eliminated gender bias in either the curriculum or the treatment of women medical students.
Building on previous research, this study is designed to contribute to feminist understanding of women’s medical school experiences through an in-depth analysis of self-reported medical school experiences of women physicians. One-on-one interviews will be conducted with approximately sixteen women doctors who graduated from large public medical schools. In addition to questions about curriculum and mentorship programs, the interview will also include questions about overall experiences, course content, blatant acts of harassment and discrimination, and preparedness for interaction with female patients. The goal of this research is to provide a rich analysis of particular women’s experiences in medical school.
Faculty Mentor: Julia Mason, Women and Gender Studies
UPDATE:
Katherine presented ath the National Women's Studies Association Conference 2010 November 11-14, 2010 in Denver, CO.
Page last modified January 21, 2011
