In the June issue, we posed some questions designed to discover whether attracting female physicians to CME was a concern. While the results are still coming in (OK, so we only have 15 responses so far), here is a sampling of what people have said to date. We hope this inspires you to add your two cents: Go to http://industryclick.com/magnewsarticle.asp?newsarticleid=204363&magazineid=284&SiteID=28 and let us know what you think.
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Sixty-three percent of respondents to date said that attracting female physicians to their meetings was not a large concern. The remaining 37 percent said that it was a big issue, especially when it comes to established women in the middle of their careers who also have family commitments. “They have to pick their out-of-town travel very carefully to make sure they get the most bang from their days away from home,” said one respondent.
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Interestingly, 60 percent of those who said that attracting women health care providers was not a concern also said that a lack of child care at meetings is a big barrier to female physician participation in CME. Other concerns included guilt over being apart from their families, finding time to be away from their families, and a continued focus on male-oriented programming. Fifty-seven percent said they do not market their CME specifically to female physicians; 43 percent said they did by including information about day care and family activities, and by offering programs taught by female physicians on women's health topics.
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Do men and women learn differently? With the exception of one “no comment” and one “too big a question for such little space,” all respondents said that they didn't think men and women differ in learning styles; 58 percent added that they weren't sure because they had never tried to measure it.
