Physician infertility: a structured literature review

Abstract

Physician infertility has become a growing concern because of the increasingly high rates of infertility physicians experience associated with their strenuous work schedules, environmental exposures, and delayed family planning due to their necessitated years of training. Fortunately, there has been an increase in awareness, advocacy, and urgency for institutional support alongside this suboptimal association. This awareness is reflected in the vast existing literature regarding physician infertility; in this scoping review, we aggregated and assessed the current data as well as identified gaps in the available research. Including 56 articles regarding various aspects of the current state of physician infertility, we compiled and synthesized the available data to understand the role of infertility in physician family planning, including specific analyses for surgeons and comparisons of male and female physicians. We discussed the utilization and downsides of artificial reproductive technologies for this population in terms of finances and logistics, contributing to this complex and, until recently, neglected issue. Lastly, we reported on a multitude of suggestions aimed at medical training programs to help combat the complex issue of physician infertility.

Keywords: Artificial reproductive technologies; Medical training; Physician infertility.