Women in interventional cardiology: The French experience.
OBJECTIVE
Exploring the discrepancy in sex-ratio among interventional cardiologists by analysing the population of the female interventionalist.


BACKGROUND
Despite an increase number of women who graduate from medical school in France during the last generation today, women represent only 24% of all cardiologists and 3% are interventional cardiologists. To face this international gender-based issue of interventional cardiology, committees were established in US (WIN) and recently within the EAPCI: the Women EAPCI chaired by Drs Mehilli and Mauri. In France, the Intervention'Elles committee emerged in order to participate in this concern.


METHODS
As a first initiative, the Intervention'Elles group launched an e-survey to obtain information on the population of French female interventional cardiologists, focused on demography, work patterns, maternity and radiation exposure.


RESULTS
Mean age is 40 years old (±7,4), 68% are working in large volume center, 28% have also structural interventional activity. Only 40% have left arm coverage. Despite 80% of French female interventional cardiologists wear personal dosimeters only 45% of them have a dosimetry feedback. Interestingly, even if 54% of women have children (mean: 1.9±1) 28% of them report that childbearing had interfered with their career plan.


CONCLUSIONS
This questionnaire identifies for the first time the women population in interventional cardiology in France and highlights some of the issues encountered in more detail. This first descriptive step would help to develop strategies for attaining gender equality in interventional cardiology.
Cardiology department, university hospital, 38700 Grenoble, France.
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E
Vautrin
Cardiology department, university hospital, 38700 Grenoble, France.
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S
Marlière
Cardiology department, Antibes hospital center, 06606 Antibes, France.
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Bellemain-Appaix
Cardiology department, Brest-university, 29609 Brest, France.
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M
Gilard
Inserm U942, cardiology department, Paris Diderot university, 75010 Paris, France. Electronic address: stephane.manzosilberman@aphp.fr.
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Manzo-Silberman
D000328:Adult; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D002309:Cardiology / Q000193:education*; D002321:Career Choice; D002648:Child; D002668:Child Rearing; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010822:Physicians, Women / Q000600:supply & distribution; D011874:Radiometry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D013038:Specialization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
Angioplastie; Coronarographie; Coronary angiography; Epidemiology; Gender; Genre; Percutaneous coronary intervention; Radiation/Dosimetry; Radiation/dosimetrie; Épidémiologie