Effect of patient gender on evaluation of intern performance.
To explore the effect of patient gender on the perceptions of intern performance, 366 patients were interviewed during hospitalization in acute medical services. Women reported being more satisfied with the care they received than did men. In particular, women were more satisfied than men with their intern's demonstration of personal concern. The women placed more importance on personal manner and concern, and their greater satisfaction with these behaviors may have contributed to higher ratings of overall satisfaction. In contrast, the men seemed less satisfied with their intern's personal concern; they also tended to weigh such concern less in determining overall satisfaction. Men considered the presentation of information by the physician and the establishment of dialogue with the physician as more important. The amount of such dialogue may have been inadequate to generate higher levels of overall satisfaction for the men patients.
Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH 03756.
P B
PB
Lieberman
W H
WH
Sledge
D A
DA
Matthews
D000368:Aged; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012737:Sex Factors