In response to the recent report by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), ‘Women and medicine: The future,’ the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) wishes to express its support for the RCP’s recommendations. Changing demographics within the medical profession signal the need for innovation and changes in workforce design.
The report outlines the results of a two year review to examine the changing gender balance in medicine and the implications this will have for the health service. According to current trends, women will become the majority of general practitioners by 2013 and the majority of all doctors sometime after 2017. Within the speciality of obstetrics and gynaecology, women now form a substantial majority of the annual training intake.
The increasing proportion of female doctors has important implications for the health service and underlines a need for important changes in workforce planning, structure and policies. In particular, preferences shown by women for part-time and other forms of flexible working, and their focus on particular specialties, need to be recognised and considered from an organisational perspective.
The RCP report outlines a number of recommendations, including the need to develop workforce design and planning, the need to investigate the economic implications of changing workforce patterns, and the need to address critical information gaps and enhance career guidance.
The RCOG welcomes the increasing number of women entering the medical profession and looks forward to increasing leadership by women in more senior positions. Recognition of these changes at all levels remains critical in order to develop responsive workforce plans while ensuring quality care and patient safety.
3 June 2009
Notes
A full copy of the RCP report, Women and medicine: The future, is available at http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/professional-Issues/workforce/Workforce-issues/Pages/Women-in-medicine.aspx