Press
Articles/pulications by MWF Officers and Members. For all press enquiries please contact Central Office.
Women in Medicine in the Press May 2010
There were several articles
in the press May 2010 about the number of women entering medicine. MWF President
Dr Clarissa Fabre put forward the case for MWF as did Leigh Regan, MWF’s
Student Representative at Peninsula Medical School. Articles appeared in the
Daily Mail, Sunday Times and Dr Fabre also participated in an interview on
Women’s Hour, as did MWF members Prof. Jane Dacre and Miss Helen Fernandes.
Links to all of these can be found below. Some of the comments from other
readers make for interesting reading, but they do not necessarily represent
the views of MWF!
Daily Mail Article 4th May 2010
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1271353/Women-doctors-safer-So-medical-chiefs-worried-them.html
The Sunday Times Article 9th May 2010
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/features/article7120486.ece
Response to the Sunday Times Article 16th May 2010
/www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article7127660.ece
Interview on Women’s Hour – from 9 mins 45
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s8hz2
MWF Response to the EWTD
MWF acknowledges the EWTD
has shortened training time. There is need for more evidence to show if there
is compromise in patient safety and training if the EWTD reducing working
hours to 48 hrs per week is instigated (1,2). We would
like to ensure that Deaneries support the Royal Colleges and provide training
for the trainers and for the trusts to ensure that both the trainees and trainers
have adequate time for training to take place. It is without doubt that service
will have been affected as long on call shifts are no longer possible. How
much of this was training needs proper evaluation. Considering our flexible
training members, there will have been only a small reduction in their hours
due to EWTD and its introduction may enable some to work at higher percentages.
Training is now competency based rather than time based. Our primary concern
is that the Royal College of Surgeons statements (1,2)
regarding surgical specialty opt out of the EWTD should not in any way deter
our female medical students and junior doctors from pursuing a career in surgery.
References1. BOTA position statement on the European Working Time Directive and training in trauma and orthpaedic surgery – British Orthopaedic Trainees Association . January 2008. 2. The impact of EWTD on delivery of surgical services: A Consensus statement. Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland. November 2008. http://www.asgbi.org.uk/en/publications/consensus statement.cfm.
Making Part-Time Work
The MWF, funded by the Women and Equality Unit, has been researching ways to facilitate part-time working in the medical profession. The research consisted of interviews and focus groups with part-time doctors of all grades and specialties throughout the UK as well as representatives from the Royal Colleges, Deaneries and HR. Our summary document was published on the 19th June 2008 and the full report can be found by clicking here>>Should the BMA Model Contract Be Re-Written? - Dr Clarissa Fabre
Dr Clarissa Fabre, MWF President-Elect had her response to this question published in Pulse News, 4th February 2009. The article can be accessed via Pulse's website if you have a username and password by clicking here: www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=20&storycode=4121741&c=2 or you can download a copy in word here>>Medical Humanities - The Key to Work-Life Balance? - Ms Tamzin Cuming
Ms Tamzin Cuming, MWF member
and winner of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Prize at MWF's Autumn Meeting
2008, designed a poster on the Work-Life balance a copy of which can be seen
by clicking here>>.
BBC Radio Wales 'The Gender pay-gap' - Dr Amanda Owen
Dr Amanda Owen, editor of Medical Woman contributed to a recent Radio Phone-In on BBC Radio Wales on the topic 'Why do women get paid 17% less than men?'. Also appearing on the programme was Dr Katerine Rake, director of Fawcett Society and speaker at MWF's Autumn Meeting 2008.The Careers of Women GPS - Dr Fiona Cornish
Fiona Cornish wrote about her experiences and the issues facing women doctors in an article on the careers of female GPs that appeared in Pulse News, 10th September 2008. You can read a copy of the article by clicking here>>
Are too many women coming into general practice? - Dr Susan Overal
Dr Susan Overal wrote her response to the above question in an article that appeared in Pulse News, 10th September 2008. You can read a copy of the article by clicking here>> (Unfortunately this article is available to registered users only).
BMJ Article 'Are there too many female medical graduate?' - MWF response.
There has been much in the
press recently about there being too many female medical students and graduates.
The Medical Women's Federation has been representing women doctors and their
patients for over 90 years. When it was founded in 1917, it was very difficult
for women to get into medical school, and their subsequent careers were also
fraught with problems.
Although the situation regarding access to medical training has now been dramatically reversed, there are still many difficulties in the way of female doctors who wish to combine childbearing with a medical career. This explains the comment made by Jane Dacre on radio 4 about attrition - how the women who graduate from medical school are less likely to progress in their careers than their male counterparts. We have heard people describing women wanting to have children and a career as "Having their cake and eating it" but as Cherie Blair once famously said, we think of it as a juggling act. Women are getting their places at medical school on merit. Are people really suggesting that well qualified, clever and motivated women should not have access to this worthwhile and rewarding career?
Surely it is the job of all of us to help them overcome the problems they face rather than just planning to reduce the numbers of women facing the problem. The MWF and many of the representative bodies in medicine, such as the colleges, have been having discussions with the Chief Medical Officer and the Department of Health to make plans to cope with the rise in the population of women doctors and would like to point out that we prefer to look upon the situation as a challenge rather than a problem.
Although the situation regarding access to medical training has now been dramatically reversed, there are still many difficulties in the way of female doctors who wish to combine childbearing with a medical career. This explains the comment made by Jane Dacre on radio 4 about attrition - how the women who graduate from medical school are less likely to progress in their careers than their male counterparts. We have heard people describing women wanting to have children and a career as "Having their cake and eating it" but as Cherie Blair once famously said, we think of it as a juggling act. Women are getting their places at medical school on merit. Are people really suggesting that well qualified, clever and motivated women should not have access to this worthwhile and rewarding career?
Surely it is the job of all of us to help them overcome the problems they face rather than just planning to reduce the numbers of women facing the problem. The MWF and many of the representative bodies in medicine, such as the colleges, have been having discussions with the Chief Medical Officer and the Department of Health to make plans to cope with the rise in the population of women doctors and would like to point out that we prefer to look upon the situation as a challenge rather than a problem.
Dr Clarissa Fabre on why 'GPs continue to offer the best care'
MWF President-Elect Dr Fabre
made her contribution to the 'Valuing GP Campaign', which ran in GP magazine.
You can read a copy of the article by clicking
here>>
BMJ Careers - The Medical Women's Federation Celebrates it's long history
To comemorate MWF's 90th
birthday, Honourary Secretaries Dr De Souza and Dr Ramsay wrote an article
published in BMJ Careers on why it is still relevant today. You can read a
copy of this article by clicking
here>>
