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CMAJ
CMAJ - June 13, 2000JAMC - le 13 juin 2000

Is there room in medicine for the family man?

CMAJ 2000;162:1661

What a pleasure it was to see attention being paid to important family- and career-satisfaction issues in our national medical journal [Research].1 It is disappointing but not surprising to see that satisfaction is lowest among residents. Although we have come a long way in supporting the learning environment for them, it is clear we have more to do.

I agree strongly with Susan Phillips that if we are to enhance parenting and career satisfaction we must equalize the psychological and time commitment to parenting between the sexes [Commentary].2 But what will it take to do this? She calls for action, not further study.

Although women have been shown repeatedly to take on the larger proportion of family responsibilities, we must stop making this a women's issue. Even though women are blocked from career satisfaction and advancement by assuming these responsibilities, men (knowingly or not) are being counter-blocked from playing larger family roles by societal structures and values.

We must make both boys and girls aware of the value of caring for the family. We must fundamentally change society so that boys are encouraged to do this, taught how to do it and valued for doing it. We must remove the subtle, demeaning language that creeps into conversations about men's roles in family life. Not only should it not be tolerated but also we must act to encourage boys and men to take on these roles. Why can't we move beyond federal legislation that permits parental leave for men to a point where salaries are topped up for men, supported by the employer? Without this, fathers will almost never make this choice because it places the whole family at a financial disadvantage.

We must make our work environments supportive of men who play these roles. Flexible work hours, interrupted career paths and recognition that family responsibilities must take precedence at times should be fostered.

For academics, we have to dispel some myths and change some policies. For those who wish to have both a career and active involvement in family life, we have a lot of work to do to convince people that nontraditional career paths to success do exist. Just because you have not published extensively or received large national grants in the first 5 years does not mean you will never be successful. Although the literature does not support this thesis,3 this work is retrospective and based on structures that support only one model of career development. Let's be more flexible and work together to make our profession a more satisfying place for those with families.

Frederick Burge
Department of Family Medicine
Dalhousie University
Halifax, NS
fburge@tupdean2.med.dal.ca

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References
  1. Cujec B, Oancia T, Bohm C, Johnson D. Career and parenting satisfaction among medical students, residents and physician teachers at a Canadian medical school. CMAJ 2000;162(5):637-40. [MEDLINE]
  2. Phillips SP. Parenting, puppies and practice: juggling and gender in medicine. CMAJ 2000;162(5):663-4. [MEDLINE]
  3. Bland C, Schmitz C. Characteristics of the successful researcher and implications for faculty development. J Med Educ 1986;61:22-31. [MEDLINE]

© 2000 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors