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A qualitative study of work-life choices in academic internal medicine

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Abstract

The high attrition rate of female physicians pursuing an academic medicine research career has not been examined in the context of career development theory. We explored how internal medicine residents and faculty experience their work within the context of their broader life domain in order to identify strategies for facilitating career advancement. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 18 residents and 34 faculty members representing male and female physicians at different career stages. Using thematic analysis, three themes emerged: (1) the love of being a physician (“Raison d’être”), (2) family obligations (“2nd Shift”), and (3) balancing work demands with non-work life (“Negotiating Academic Medicine”). Female researchers and educators reported more strategies for multiple role planning and management than female practitioners. Interventions aimed at enhancing academic internists’ planning and self-efficacy for multiple role management should be investigated as a potential means for increasing participation and facilitate advancement.

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Acknowledgment

NIH T32 AG00265 (Isaac), R25 GM083252 (Kaatz), R01 GM094573 (Byars-Winston), R01 GM088477 (Carnes), Meriter Hospital, the Shapiro Research Fellowship for medical students (McSorley and Schultz), and the Jean Manchester Biddick-Bascom Professorship (Carnes). Dr. Carnes is a part time staff physician at the William S. Middleton Veterans Hospital (GRECC Publication Number XXXX).

Conflict of interest

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Author notes

  1. Carol Isaac

    Present address: School of Human Development and Organizational Studies in Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Center for Women’s Health Research, School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH), University of Wisconsin-Madison, 700 Regent Street, Suite 301, Madison, WI, 53715, USA

    Carol Isaac, Angela Byars-Winston, Rebecca McSorley, Alexandra Schultz, Anna Kaatz & Mary L. Carnes

  2. Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry, SMPH, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Mary L. Carnes

  3. Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI), College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Mary L. Carnes

  4. William S. Middleton Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, USA

    Mary L. Carnes

  5. Medical students at the SMPH, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Rebecca McSorley & Alexandra Schultz

  6. Center for Women’s Health Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA

    Anna Kaatz

Authors
  1. Carol Isaac
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  2. Angela Byars-Winston
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  3. Rebecca McSorley
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  4. Alexandra Schultz
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  5. Anna Kaatz
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  6. Mary L. Carnes
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Correspondence to Angela Byars-Winston.

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Isaac, C., Byars-Winston, A., McSorley, R. et al. A qualitative study of work-life choices in academic internal medicine. Adv in Health Sci Educ 19, 29–41 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-013-9457-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-013-9457-5

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