Flexible hours, lifestyle factors lead more women to choose emergency medicine

Chris Giesa, DO, began practicing emergency medicine in 1991. Although her residency class was more than half women, the vast majority of DOs in leadership positions in emergency medicine at the time were men.

Over the past decade, the percentage of female DOs in emergency medicine has increased by roughly half, according to AOA data on DOs in active practice. About 6 percent of female DOs are emergency physicians, up from 4 percent in 2005. Outside of the primary care specialties, emergency medicine is now the most popular specialty choice for female osteopathic physicians.

The American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians has also seen a surge in their female membership. Last year, 30% of their meeting attendees were women, a significant increase from 2004, when just 17% of attendees were women.

In response to the growing number of women pursing leadership opportunities in the field of emergency medicine, Dr. Giesa, the treasurer of ACOEP, has spearheaded creation of the college’s first Women’s Council, which will hold its inaugural gathering in October at the ACOEP’s Scientific Assembly.

“This new group will serve to connect some of our younger physicians with women mentors,” Dr. Giesa says.

Megan Koenig, DO, an attending physician in Colorado Springs, Colorado, says she’s excited to participate in ACOEP’s Women’s Council because women in emergency medicine face unique challenges.

“One big issue is that we are always looked at as the nurses,” she says. “When you walk in a room, people say, ‘Where is my physician? I still haven’t seen a doctor yet.’ Actually, you’ve seen me multiple times. It’s interesting to talk to other women to learn different ways of dealing with that problem.”

Other gender-specific issues include pregnancy, childbirth and breast pumping, Dr. Koenig notes. She herself sought advice from colleagues when she was expecting because she wasn’t sure how much time she should take off after having her daughter.

“Within the ACOEP, we have quite a few women from the older generation who can really help guide us, because they’ve been there, and they have paved the way,” she says. “It’s a neat camaraderie.”

The lifestyle factor

Initially enamored by orthopedic surgery as a premed, Dr. Koenig was drawn to emergency medicine as a medical student in part because of the specialty’s flexible hours and lack of call. She currently works six 24-hour shifts each month.

“I really liked that I could dictate my own schedule and work as much or as little as I wanted, so I could focus on being a mom and a wife and not be on call all the time,” she says. “Basically, when I’m not at work, I’m completely devoted to my family, rather than always having a pager.”

As a specialty, emergency medicine is a good fit for women in medicine who want to have families, Dr. Giesa says.

“You can easily work full time or part time,” she says. “You can stay at home with your children and work shift work while your spouse is home with the children. The nice thing is, when you’re off, you’re off. You don’t have to worry about backup child care because you’re on call.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the location of the inaugural Women’s Council meeting, which will be held at the ACOEP’s Scientific Assembly.