Gender differences among spouses of surgeons.
BACKGROUND
The goal of this study was to identify whether gender differences exist regarding the degree of spousal support for, satisfaction with, and perception of surgeons' careers.


METHODS
A survey was performed of spouses of academic surgeons in the United States and Canada.


RESULTS
Female respondents were significantly less likely to work outside of the home and were significantly more likely to be the major decision-makers at home. They were less likely to credit their surgeon spouses with contributing to household duties and childcare. If both spouses worked outside of the home, the female spouse was still more likely to be the major decision maker. Overall, male and female respondents rated their role in and their satisfaction with their spouses' career choices similarly.


CONCLUSIONS
Male and female spouses contribute equally to the career choices of their surgeon spouses. However, female spouses, both surgeon and nonsurgeon, are more likely to make the majority of the decisions at home and contributions to household care.
Kao
Lillian S
LS
Department of Surgery, University of Texas-Houston Medical School, 5656 Kelley Street, Suite 30S62008, Houston, TX 77026, USA. Lillian.S.Kao@uth.tmc.edu
Wilson
Erik B
EB
Anderson
Kimberly D
KD
D000328:Adult; D002170:Canada; D002321:Career Choice; D003625:Data Collection; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011336:Probability; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D012737:Sex Factors; D018454:Spouses; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States