An Empirical Investigation of the Differences Between Male and Female Medical School Physicians

The purpose of this research was to investigate gender-related differences among medical school faculty in a variety of areas such as information technology, medical malpractice, compensation, patient care, and carrier satisfaction. The Center for Studying Health System Change's 2008 Health Tracking Physician survey data consisting of 326 medical school faculty belonging to the American Medical Association were used in this study. t Tests indicate that female physicians practicing in medical schools were younger, had less experience, reported lower compensation, and were more likely to be primary care physicians. Male medical school physicians were significantly more concerned about being involved in a malpractice lawsuit. They reported a significantly higher percentage on income based on productivity-related factors. Male physicians also reported getting a significantly higher level of goods and services from drug companies. They also provided more hours of medical service for no or reduced fee in the previous month and higher levels of career satisfaction. Implications of this research are discussed.