Motherhood & Medicine During Residency: Companions or Competitors? Amy Miller, DO Julie Dostal, MD Nyann Biery, MS Department of Family Medicine STFM Annual Conference April 26-30,2006

Background Enrollment of female medical students is approaching 60%, there are an increasing number of women having children during medical training. Parent and career satisfaction for female physicians will be affected by this dual role. Previous research has shown residents who were most dissatisfied with their parenting had the highest level of career dissatisfaction. Research has also shown residency to be the most stressful period of one’s medical career, parenting during residency may increase this stress.

Objective & Design Identify the accomplishments and struggles of motherhood and medicine during residency training at Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH). Determine the level of satisfaction during residency with the dual role of being a mother. Survey given to mothers in various residency programs at LVH (n=12)

Demographics Total of 11 mothers completed survey All mothers are married and 91% have a husband that works (n=10) 64% of the pregnancies were planned (7) Residencies include Family Medicine (5), Internal Medicine (3), Emergency Medicine (2), Obstetrics (1) 72% mothers had their first child prior to starting residency (8) and 27% had children during their 1st year of residency (3) 3 mothers have 2 children. 1 was born during medical school, the other 2 during residency.

Results 64% of mothers use day care, 36% have a family member, 27% have someone come into their home, and 9% use a nanny 55% have a family member that is less than 1 hour away, 18% have family 1-3 hours away, & 27% have family greater than 6 hours away 60% husbands work outside of the home, 20% inside, & 20% work inside & outside of the home

Questionnaire Series of Likert scale questions given to determine the following: Job Satisfaction n=2 Career Satisfaction n=3 Colleague Support n=2 Home Satisfaction n=3 Any Conflicts n=6 Time Pressures n=2 Recommend Motherhood n=1

Likert Scale Results Job Satisfaction Results in frequency % Job Satisfaction Very Often Often Sometimes Not Very Often Never I am able to derive personal gratification from patient care 27 46 I am able to remain knowledgeable and current 64 9 I am able to meet the needs and demands of patients 55 18 Career Satisfaction Extremely Very Moderately Not Very Dissatisfied I am satisfied with my role as a physician 82 I am satisfied with my career choice in medicine 73

Likert Scale Results (con’t). Results in frequency % Colleague Support Very Often Often Sometimes Not Very Often Never Other residents in my program support me in my parenting obligations 27 18 46 9 My residency program supports me in my parenting obligations 36 Time Pressure I can find time to spend with friends or family I am able to relax when given the opportunity (self-care)

Likert Scale Results (con’t). Results in frequency % Conflicts? Never Occasionally Sometimes Frequently Always I am able to leave my personal concerns behind when at work 18 64 I have to interrupt work to take care of personal errands 55 27 I feel torn between demands of my work and my child Feel other residents are burdened by my parenting obligations 9 I miss social obligations because of my job 46 There is tension at home over how much time I spend in work-related activities 36

Likert Scale Results (con’t). Results in frequency % Home Satisfaction Extremely Very Moderately Not Very Dissatisfied I am satisfied with the amount of time I spend with my child/children 9 46 I am satisfied with the amount of time I get to spend with my partner 27 64 I am satisfied with my role as a mother 36 Recommend Motherhood Not Very Likely Highly Unlikely How likely are you to recommend motherhood to incoming residents? 18

Challenges/Enhancement Residents were asked if they agreed to certain terms when considering the challenges of being a resident mom. - All felt more fatigue, less time with partner & children, most felt a sense of guilt & feeling overwhelmed When asked about how it enhanced them being a physician: - All felt empathy, most felt more human/ well rounded & more aware of parent issues

Conclusions & Limitations There was no correlation seen between support systems and increase satisfaction at home & work Most were satisfied with work life, but not satisfied with home life, wanting more time at home, yet 54% would recommend the dual role to incoming residents. There was a small sample with the sample being very similar demographically There was no group for comparison