Balancing Practice and Family for Female Physicians

The field of osteopathic medicine is a calling to many practitioners, which makes it especially challenging to separate home and work or leave work to focus on home.

“When I began my career, there were fewer female role models” shared Natalie Nevins, DO, MSHPE, MSS, FACOFP, COL, USAR. “It was challenging because when you don’t see an attending who looks like you, you can think you don’t belong.

"This can affect many aspects of being a woman in family medicine, including access to resources with similar lived experiences. As Rebecca Lewis, DO, FACOFP, shared, "Female students and residents I mentor frequently ask how to balance their work and home lives, and particularly struggle to determine the ‘right’ time to start a family.”

These challenges are not specific to women in family medicine. A 2023 study by Pew Research found that even when an opposite-sex marriage is equal in terms of income, husbands spend more time on paid work and leisure, while wives devote more time to caregiving and housework. Using the American Time Use Survey, researchers found husbands spend 44.2 more hours on paid work versus 41.1 for wives and they spend 25.2 hours on activities such as socializing or relaxing compared to 21.6 for wives. In contrast, wives on average spend 6.9 hours taking care of individuals in the household and 4.6 hours doing housework, husbands 5 and 2 hours on these activities, respectively.

Back to the common question Dr. Lewis hears, her advice is to always do what is right for your family. She noted there is never a good time to get married or have children, so those who wish to pursue either or both need to eliminate any guilt they have about “abandoning” their fellow residents or in-office colleagues. Her only caution about the timing of having children is to remember Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) coverage does not go into effect until someone is employed for one year.

“There will always be opportunities,” continued Dr. Lewis. “Whether that is to advance in a particular practice, grow academically or accepting leadership roles at organizations like ACOFP.”

Dr. Lewis and Dr. Nevins are aligned in their encouragement that women get past “imposter syndrome” and both encourage incoming female physicians to ask for help. Dr. Lewis builds on that further and tells her mentees to get help where they can and that includes hiring support such as a cleaning service or meal delivery.