Gender differences in the practice characteristics and career satisfaction of psychiatrists in Ontario.
OBJECTIVE
The authors explored practice characteristics, activities, and career satisfaction of male and female psychiatrists.


METHODS
A questionnaire was mailed to all practicing psychiatrists in Ontario, Canada, to which 52% responded.


RESULTS
More women specialized in child, women's mental health and geriatrics than did men, while men specialized more in forensics and psychosomatics. Women saw fewer patients for pharmacotherapy than did men. Women spent more time in session with their patients than did the men. Women were less involved in research, less likely to hold pharmaceutical funding, and less likely to have published within the last 5 years than men. Women described their careers as less successful than men but felt less regret in choosing psychiatry as a career.


CONCLUSIONS
Men and women practicing psychiatry in Canada show similar differences to that reported in the U.S., although women report more satisfaction with their careers than men in Canada, a finding not reported in the U.S.
Garfinkel
Paul E
PE
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health-Clarke Site, 250 College St., Toronto, Ont., Canada M5T 1R8.
Bagby
R Michael
RM
Schuller
Deborah R
DR
Dickens
Susan E
SE
Schulte
Fiona S
FS
Fitzgerald
Leanne
L
D000328:Adult; D002322:Career Mobility; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario; D010822:Physicians, Women; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011570:Psychiatry; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce