Burnout and attrition: Expanding the gender gap in neurology?

Abstract

Neurology faces an increasing shortage of neurologists in the United States due to a growing demand for neurologic services. A 7% increase in the supply of neurologists is predicted from 2012 to 2025, whereas the demand will rise by 16%. An increase in the neurology workforce is critical to meet the demands, and a significant gender gap remains within the workforce that must be addressed to further ease the discrepancy between supply and demand. Individual, institutional, and societal factors contribute to this gender discrepancy and potentially result in the burnout or soft attrition of women from neurology. These factors, including earning disparity between male and female neurologists, one of the largest gaps in pay for any medical specialty, and the lack of representation at higher academic levels with only 12% (14 of 113) of neurology department chairs at academic medical centers being women, could lead to increased attrition of women from neurology. Identifying and mitigating these factors may help narrow the gender gap and increase the supply of neurologists to better meet future demand.