Women Physicians Less Likely To Be Introduced As 'Doctor' At Mayo Clinic Medical Events

Women Physicians Less Likely To Be Introduced As 'Doctor' At Mayo Clinic Medical Events

A new study published in the Journal of Women's Health, examined videos of 321 speaker introductions at 124 internal medicine grand rounds from 2012 through 2014 at Mayo Clinic campuses in Arizona and Minnesota. The research was triggered when Julia Files and Anita Mayer, both physicians at the Mayo Clinic noticed a pattern in which female doctors were introduced by their first name but males as Dr. So and So. 

Sharonne Hayes, another Mayo doctor, had noticed a similar pattern. While a male colleague would be introduced as “Dr. Joe Smith,” for example, the women were often simply called “Julia,” “Anita” and “Sharonne.” In that lightbulb moment, the trio decided to quantify their observations.