Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1
Participants’ practice locations.
Note: Numbers shown are numbers of practices.
Tables
Topic Questions Work hours and patterns Do you work full time or part time?
About how many hours a week do you work?
Does this include time on inpatient floors/ED coverage?
Do you take call?
Do you practice OB?
Would you like your schedule to be different?
What motivates you to work as hard as you do?Career planning and development Did you grow up in a rural setting?
Did your medical school/residency have a rural focus?
Did you do a fellowship?
When you met your partner, did you know you were interested in rural practice?
Did your career plans affect the spouse that you chose?
What advice would you give a female resident or student considering rural practice?Spouse relationships and roles Are you married or do you have a partner?
Do you have any children? How many? How old are they?
Does your partner work? What kind of work does he/she do? [If partner/spouse works part time or doesn’t work outside the home]:
• How did you come to that decision?
• What has that meant to you as a couple?
• Have you made financial sacrifices to make this work?Work-life balance What do you see as the challenges for women in rural practice?
How are you managing with your work-life balance?
How do you bring your work life and personal life work in balance?
How do you prioritize your responsibilities?
What aspect of your work is most challenging?
How has your career affected your family?
What part does your partner play in your work-life balance?
What solutions have you found?ED = emergency department; OB = obstetrics.
- Table 2
Characteristics of the Participants, Their Practices, and Their Partners’ Work (N = 25)
Characteristic Participants, No. (%) Age, y ≤34 4 (16) 35–44 12 (48) 45–54 7 (28) ≥55 2 (8) Race Caucasian (white) 24 (96) Non-white 1 (4) Rural origina Yes 15 (60) No 10 (40) Marital status Married 19 (76) Partnered but not married 3 (12) Single 3 (12) Children Yes, adult children only 4 (16) Yes, minor children living in household 16 (64) No 5 (20) Self-reported average weekly practice hours Part time, <40 hours 4 (16) Part time, ≥40 hours 2 (8) Full time, 40–60 hours 14 (56) Full time, >60 hours 5 (20) Practice scope Outpatient only 1 (4) Practice includes inpatient or after-hours care 21 (84) Practice includes obstetrics 14 (56) Partner workb Full time 9 (41) Part time 7 (32) Telecommutes/works from home 6 (27) Not employed 4 (18) Student 2 (9) Professionalc 13 (59) First-/mid-level officer and managerc 3 (14) Craft workerc 1 (5) Sales workerc 1 (5) Practice type Hospital-owned group practice 8 (32) Group private practice 5 (20) Solo private practice 5 (20) Federally qualified health center/rural health clinic 6 (24) Indian Health Service 1 (4) Strategy Representative Quotes Variations in work hours and flexibility “Being part time and resisting the temptation to go more full time just because you’d like more money has absolutely been key for me… If I didn’t have those days in between to recharge… or do the laundry, for heaven’s sake, I don’t know how I would have raised kids…” (Physician 16)
“I have a lot of control over my schedule, and so even if I need to be at something for the kids, I can say, ‘Okay, I’m not going to be here Friday, and instead I can work Tuesday…’ The flexibility is a big deal.” (Physician 4)
“When you’re not totally stressed the house is clean and dinner is made and your charts are done and maybe you exercise. And when that kind of shifts as the pendulum swings… we need cereal and the house is dirty and my charts pile up, and then I just get through it and then it swings back and I have a little space… People say you have to have separation or you have to keep a bright line, but actually I find that having a flexible line between work and home seems to help with balance.” (Physician 1)Supportive relationships “He stayed home with the kids until about 3 or 4 years ago, and so he was what I always called the responsible parent. He could be depended on to get them where they needed to get to, and then I would get there when I could.” (Physician 17)
“He definitely accommodated my training and where we needed to be. The moves were all dependent on where I was going to go.” (Physician 13)
“My husband and I met in medical school, and we knew that we both wanted to be rural family docs; when we met, that’s what we met saying.” (Physician 4)
“He’s doing the same job I am, so we pretty much share things at home. I mean, we both cut the grass and we both clean, cook, and we took care of the kids… It’s really worked out well for us.” (Physician 2)
“If I needed [my mother] to come over at 2 in the morning because I had a patient in labor, she came over… So she knows my call schedule and knows what’s going on.” (Physician 25)
“My babysitter is very understanding, and what she’s told me is, ‘You know, if you have an emergency, just call me and let me know.’” (Physician 21)Clear boundaries around work “The doctor that founded our practice missed all of his kids’ stuff growing up because he was always on call, and people would always drop by, and he would drop everything. And so there was a lot of reeducating my patients… there was a little bit of resistance maybe from some people, but the vast majority of people were very understanding.” (Physician 17)
The Article in Brief
Rural Women Family Physicians: Strategies for Successful Work-Life Balance
Julie Phillips , and colleagues
Background Women are an essential component of the rural physician workforce, yet female family physicians experience unique challenges in maintaining work-life balance while practicing in rural communities. Seeking to better understand the personal and professional strategies that enable women in rural family medicine to balance work and personal demands and achieve long-term career satisfaction, researchers interviewed 25 women family physicians practicing in rural communities in the United States
What This Study Found Supportive employers, relationships and patient approaches provide a foundation for successful careers. The participants describe the following strategies to achieve work-life balance: 1) reduced or flexible hours; 2) supportive relationships with spouses, partners, parents or other members of the community enabling them to be readily available to their patients; and 3) maintaining clear boundaries around their work lives, helping ensure adequate time for parenting, recreation and rest.
Implications
- Female physicians considering rural practice may be more satisfied and successful if they seek flexible employers and choose communities where support is available, or if they look for ways to build support networks as they are choosing practice settings. They may also benefit from developing strategies to negotiate boundaries with patients and developing skills to maintain their wellness.
