Doctoring and mothering during the SARS-COV2 pandemic: Characteristics of physicians-mothers during COVID-19 and their impact on mental health / Medicina y maternidad durante la pandemia por SARS-COV2: Características de médicas madres de familia durante la Covid-19 y su impacto en la salud mental

Abstract Introduction During COVID-19, health workers faced increased stress accentuated by gender roles, such as motherhood. Objective This study analyzed the characteristics of a group of physicians-mothers, its impact on mental health, and their experiences during this pandemic. Method Mixed methods study using an online survey to investigate sociodemographic, family, emotional, and professional aspects, in addition to the personal experience of 537 doctors-mothers during the first stage of COVID-19. Results Due to the pandemic, most of the participants changed their daily activities. The hours dedicated to professional work (HM = 5.08, p< .0001), childcare (HM = 3.74, p< .0001), and food planning and preparation (HM = -6.96, p< .0001) were increased, while the hours dedicated to physical exercise (MH = 8.67, p< .0001) and personal care (MH = 9.54, p< .0001) decreased. It has been pointed out that this pandemic has generated a lack of well-defined spaces, resulting in multitasking. Fear and guilt were two common words in the speeches of the participants. Fear of getting sick and dying, or fear of infecting their families. Guilt at feeling that they did not play a good role either as doctors or as mothers. Most common psychological symptoms were insomnia, sadness or discouragement, and constant worry or tension. Discussion and conclusion The pandemic evidenced and exacerbated both the disparities faced by these female doctors in the medical field, as well as the inequity in housework and home-care. The loss of boundaries between the public and the private showed the mothers-doctor struggling to reconcile their personal and professional life with substantial repercussions for their mental health.

Resumen Introducción Durante el COVID-19, los trabajadores de la salud enfrentaron mayor estrés, acentuado por los roles de género, como la maternidad. Objetivo Analizar las características de un grupo de madres médicas, su impacto en la salud mental, y sus experiencias durante esta pandemia. Método Estudio de métodos mixtos mediante una encuesta en línea que indagó aspectos familiares, emocionales, profesionales y la experiencia personal de 537 madres médicas durante la primera etapa del COVID-19. Resultados Por la pandemia, las participantes cambiaron sus actividades diarias. Asimismo, incrementaron el número de horas dedicadas al trabajo profesional (HM = 5.08, p< .0001), el cuidado de niños (HM = 3.74, p< .0001) y la planificación y preparación de alimentos (HM = -6.96, p< .0001). Disminuyeron las horas dedicadas al ejercicio físico (MH = 8.67, p< .0001) y al cuidado personal (MH = 9.54, p< .0001). Señalaron que esta pandemia generó una falta de espacios definidos, lo que favoreció el multitasking. Miedo y culpa fueron dos palabras habituales en los discursos de las participantes. También miedo a enfermarse y morir, o miedo a contagiar a sus familias. Culpabilidad por sentir que no desempeñaron un buen papel ni como médicas ni como madres. Los síntomas psicológicos más comunes fueron insomnio, tristeza y tensión constante. Discusión y conclusión La pandemia evidenció y exacerbó las disparidades que enfrentan estas doctoras en el campo de la medicina y la inequidad en las tareas del hogar. La pérdida de los límites entre lo público y lo privado mostró a las médicas madres conciliando su vida personal y profesional, con repercusiones sustanciales para su salud mental.

Representación femenina en las especialidades quirúrgicas y afines en el Perú / Female representation in surgical and related specialties in Peru

RESUMEN La equidad de género es un tema social que atraviesa diversas disciplinas. Dentro del campo de la medicina, ha sido claramente identificada la inequidad del rol de la mujer en las especialidades quirúrgicas. Limitada representatividad femenina en puestos de liderazgo de sociedades quirúrgicas o académicas, diferencias salariales en comparación con sus colegas varones y falta de programas de mentoría para llevar una carrera equilibrada son algunas de las dificultades que afrontan las mujeres que escogen una carrera quirúrgica. El presente artículo explora el estado de la mujer en la carrera quirúrgica en el Perú, las particulares limitaciones que afronta; también destaca la importancia de la participación femenina en cirugía y presenta algunas propuestas para mejorar el rol de la mujer en el campo quirúrgico.

ABSTRACT Gender equality is a social issue that affects various disciplines. Within the field of medicine, inequality regarding the role of women in surgical specialties has been clearly identified. Limited female representation in leadership positions regarding surgical or academic societies, salary differences when compared to their male colleagues, and lack of mentoring programs for a balanced career are some of the difficulties faced by women who pursue a surgical career. This article explores the status of women who pursue surgical careers in Peru and the specific limitations they face; it also highlights the importance of female participation in surgery and proposes some suggestions to improve the role of women in the surgical field.

El rol de las redes sociales y el empoderamiento de las mujeres en medicina / The role of social networks and women empowerment in medicine

RESUMEN Hoy en día la cantidad de médicos y profesionales de salud que utilizan las redes sociales como vehículos principales para la comunicación está en aumento. Las redes sociales ofrecen nuevas formas de conec tarse, facilitan la comunicación casi instantánea sin límites geográficos y sirven de apoyo a estudiantes, médicos y profesionales de salud. Las redes sociales pueden permitir que las mujeres en el campo de la salud obtengan apoyo que de otro modo no tendrían. Este artículo describe el rol de las redes sociales para contribuir al empoderamiento de las mujeres en medicina y discute las oportunidades de utilizar las redes sociales como herramienta para acceder a mentoría y consejeros experimentados como modelos a seguir; el apoyo e interacción entre pares; y el acceso a información y educación continua.

ABSTRACT Today, the number of doctors and health professionals who use social networks as main venues for com munication is increasing. Social networks offer new ways to connect and can facilitate almost instanta neous communication without geographical boundaries and can support students, doctors and health professionals. Social networks can allow women in the health field to obtain support that they would not otherwise have. This article describes the role of social networks in contributing to the empowerment of women in medicine and discusses the opportunities to use social networks as a tool for: access to mento ring and experienced counselors as role models; peer support and interaction; and access to information and continuing education.

Unconscious Gender Bias Against Women Physicians / 日本プライマリ・ケア連合学会誌

Unconscious bias refers to implicit associations or attitudes we hold that operate beyond our conscious awareness. It can significantly influence our behavior and decision-making. Studies suggest that the lack of advancement into prestigious and leadership positions by women and gender pay gaps are due to the unconscious gender bias against women. In traditionally male-dominant fields, such as medicine, women are evaluated less favorably than their male colleagues. Women physicians are exposed to negative unconscious bias in numerous settings from daily interactions with patients, physician colleagues and co-medical workers to evaluations, access to educational opportunities and promotions. The unconscious bias against women negatively affects not only social interactions and external evaluations of women, but also their performance. To reduce the unconscious bias against women, training for staff and stakeholders, including women themselves, and the construction multi-faceted systematic interventions are needed.

The Influence of Gender on ProfessionalismFemale in Trainees / 한국의학교육

PURPOSE: This study aimed to analyze the experience of female trainees who were trained in hospitals after graduating from medical school, focusing on methods of representing their gender in training courses. METHODS: We interviewed 8 trainees who had been trained in a hospital in Seoul and 4 faculties from June 2010 to October 2010. We analyzed their similarities and differences and developed a vocational identity formation process to represent gender. RESULTS: Gender was represented contradictorily in their training course, affecting their choice of specialties and interactions with patients. But, female trainees did not want to their being distinguished from their male counterparts with regard to being a good doctor to be influenced by meritocracy. It was difficult for them to bear children and balance work and family life due to aspects of the training system, including long work hours and the lack of replacement workers. Consequently, they asked their parents to help with child care, because hospitals are not interested in the maternity system. Female trainees did not consider being a doctor to be a male profession. Likely, they believed that their femininity influenced their professionalism positively. CONCLUSION: The methods of representing gender are influenced by the training system, based a male-dominated apprenticeship. Thus, we will research the mechanisms that influence gender-discriminated choices in specialties, hospitals, and medical schools and prepare a maternity care system for female trainees. Strategies that maximize recruitment and retention of women in medicine should include a consideration of alternative work schedules and optimization of maternity leave and child care opportunities.

Trends in Research on the History of Medicine in Korea before the Modern Era / 의사학

Research on the history of medicine in Korea in the form of modern scholarship began with the publication in 1930 of Yi Neunghwa's "A History of the Development of Medicine in Korea." The purpose of the present study lies in surveying studies on the history of medicine in Korea in the past 80 years since the publication of Yi's paper. In terms of periodization, research on the history of medicine in Korea is bifurcated by the publication of two comprehensive histories.i. e., Miki Sakae's A History of Medicine and Disease in Korea (1963) and Kim Du-jong's The Complete History of Medicine in Korea (1966). Indeed, all earlier studies converged in these two books. Because Miki and Kim both had majored in Western medicine and conducted research based on similar perspectives, data, and methods, the two works overlap considerably, and Kim's book, as the later of the two, unfortunately lost the initiative to the former to a considerable extent. As a result of these two scholars' research, it became possible to trace the overall flow of the history of medicine in Korea. Following the publication of works by Miki and Kim and with the advent of the 1980's, research on the history of medicine in premodern Korea was renovated with the emergence of no fewer than some dozen new doctoral degree holders in the field. In fact, these young scholars went beyond surveying trends in each era to expand the scope of specific discussions and topics per era, to delve into the actual contents, and to elucidate the function of medicine in society. The fruits of studies conducted in the past 80 years on the history of medicine in premodern Korea can be summarized as follows. 1) before the 5th century AD: the existence of a comprehensive medical practice in regions inhabited by those considered to be the ancestors of the Korean people; and information on medication including ginseng. 2) 5th-10th centuries: the existence of professional medical posts; the management of medicine by the royal household; institutions for medical education; the import and use of Chinese medical texts; the compilation of independent medical texts; the transmission of medical knowledge to Japan; and the import and export of medicinal ingredients. 3) 10th-14th centuries: public medical organs; medicine focusing on domestic medication; the invitation of medical doctors and the transmission of new medicine from Song China; the inclusion of medicine in the civil service examinations; the compilation of diverse types of Korean medical texts including those on native medicinal ingredients; disaster relief organs; regional medical organs; regional medicinal ingredient tribute system; and the state's measures against infectious diseases. 4) 14th-17th centuries: the consolidation of traditional East Asian medicine; the consolidation of Korean medicine including native medicinal ingredients; the emergence of a medical tradition that stresses the Daoist preservation of health ; and the publication of dozens of types of Chinese and Korean medical texts led by the entral and regional governments. Also noteworthy is the emergence of simple medical texts on emergency relief, pregnancy and childbirth, smallpox, and epidemics ( as well as the dissemination of their vernacular editions. In addition, there were phenomena such as the increasing occupation of the posts of medical officials by the non-aristocratic middling jung'in class; the existence of Confucian scholar-physicians and women physicians; and the compilation of texts on independent external medicine. 5) 17th-19th centuries: the formation of medicinal ingredient markets; the spread of pharmacies throughout the provinces; a vogue for Ming Chinese medical texts; veneration for the Treasured Mirror of Eastern Medicine; the emergence of a positivistic stance toward medical research; a vogue for experiential remedies; interest in Western medicine; compilation of several medical texts on measles; criticism of Chinese traditional medicine and/or Korean traditional medicine; the spread of variolation; attempts to introduce smallpox vaccination ; Korean-Japanese medical exchange through the dispatch of Korean goodwill missions to Japan; a great vogue for the Treasured Mirror of Eastern Medicine in both China and Japan; the emergence of independent medical texts on acupuncture; the successful cultivation and massive export of ginseng; and the birth of the Sasang (4-type) constitutional typology, a native medical tradition.

PAP Smear-screening in Primary Care Women Physicians and Its Influence on Patients

BACKGROUND: PAP smear has been highly appraised for screening cervical cancer. Generally regarded is that women physicians regularly screen for PAP would promote patients' early detection and treatment rate by their strong recommendation. Hereby we investigated PAP-screening in primary care women physicians, recommending proportion and associated factors. METHODS: Questionnaires were sent to 981 members of the Korean Academy of Family Medicine, Korean Association of Family Practitioners, Korean Medical Women's Association, and Songpa-gu and Kangdong-gu family practitioners. a total of 193 respondents was analyzed. RESULTS: Among the total 55.4% of the respondents screened for PAP smear regularly, either annually (23.9%), or from their treating gynecologists (61.6%) or through routine check-up (81.1%). Common reasons for not screening were lack of time (40.7%) and forgetfulness (38.4%). Recommending proportion for PAP to patients was 49.2%. Reasons for not recommending were lack of equipment, forgetfulness (18.8% each). Confidence of PAP as a screening test was very high (71.5%); significantly related to PAP-screening and to recommending proportion (P=0.033, P=0.005, respectively). Many of the respondents thought physician's own PAP-screening affected its recommendation (45.3%), whereas significant relation to their actual PAP-screening was not found (P=0.845). PAP-screening in physicians showed no significant relationship with recommending proportion (P=0.053). Internal disease history had meaningful relation only with recommending proportion (P=0.001). CONCLUSION: Though physicians show strong confidence in PAP and undergo more than the general public, most do not screen for it regularly and the recommending proportion was low. To improve physician's PAP-screening and recommending proportion, re-education of physicians and provision of proper clinical equipment are required.

Current Status of Japanese Women Physicians in Medical Societies / 医学教育

We performed a survey to assess the positions and activities of Japanese women physicians in medical societies. In June 2000, questionnaires were sent to 92 medical societies of the Japanese Association of Medical Science. The response rate was 92.4%. Fifty-four societies (63.5%) failed to provide the number of women physicians. According to the questionnaires that were fully completed and returned, women physicians were more likely to belong to societies of internal medicine, pediatrics, ophthalmology and dermatology. Women physicians were less likely to hold board positions and were underrepresented in leadership positions, even in societies with high percentages of women members. Board positions failed to provide for maternity or child-care leave, and few societies offered childcare facilities at annual meetings. Gender-disaggregated data should be made readily available and additional surveys need to be made to identify obstacles to activities in medical societies.