The American College of Physicians is urging hospitals, clinics and other physician employers to commit to closing the gender pay gap and to avoid giving financial penalties for physicians working less than full time, according to a paper published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Additionally, the ACP argued men and women should have the same access to a minimum of six weeks of family and medical leave, including medical students and physicians in training.
"For many reasons, including the pay gap and gender bias and discrimination, women physicians face a higher rate of burnout than men — some studies show that rate to be as high as 71 percent for women physicians," Susan Thompson Hingle, MD, chair of the ACP Board of Regents, told Reuters.
"Burnout is not only due to the pay gap, but it certainly contributes," Dr. Hingle said. "Burned out physicians not only leave medicine early, thus worsening the physician shortage, but they also provide lower quality care . . . , have higher rates of medical errors and lower patient satisfaction."
Parental leave should be mandated for physicians and medical students, with flexibility in board certification processes that let trainees who go on parental leave to still sit for their boards, Dr. Hingle added.
The ACP also urged hospitals and other employers to work on increasing the number of women in leadership positions and to investigate the best practices to eliminate gender compensation inequity and barriers to career advancement.
"Promotion and academic rank are contributors to salary and to respect," Dr. Hingle said. "Because of many factors, including societal expectations, women progress more slowly through the academic ranks, thus contributing to the gender disparities in salary and in leadership."
Moreover, hospitals and employers should hold programs in leadership development, negotiation and career development for medical students and junior physicians.