THE SEX-RATIO OF AMERICAN RADIOLOGISTS - COMPARISON AND IMPLICATIONS BY AGE, SUBSPECIALTY, AND TYPE OF PRACTICE

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this paper is to present results related to two questions regarding changes in the sex ratio of American radiologi sts. Do men and women in radiology have different patterns of subspeci alization, postresidency training, board certification, or practice ch aracteristics? Do differences in patterns between the sexes imply that the number of radiologists required in the future will change with a changing sex ratio of radiologists? MATERIALS AND METHODS. A survey qu estionnaire was mailed to a stratified random sample of 2804 radiologi sts, radiation oncologists, and nuclear medicine specialists drawn fro m the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile. The survey ac hieved a response rate of 69%, Stratification criteria included sex, a ge, and subspecialty. The survey questions included age, sex, subspeci alty, training status, board certification, type of practice, principa l work activity, source of income, hours worked, and amount of time aw ay from the practice, Data analysis used descriptive statistics, ordin ary least squares regression, and legit analysis. Weighting assured th at results represent all radiologists.RESULTS. Only 13% of active radi ologists who have finished training are women. The percentage varies w ith age; 6% of radiologists 45 years old or older, 22% of those 35-44 years old, and 23% of those younger than 35 years old were women. Diff erences in the sex ratio were not associated with differences in board certification or postresidency fellowships, but subspecialization dif fered by sex. Women were more likely than men to be salaried, to work part-time, to be engaged in teaching, and to work in an office rather than in a hospital. Differences in the sex ratio had little impact on estimates of the number of radiologists that will be needed in the fut ure. CONCLUSION. Female radiologists have subspecialization and practi ce characteristics different from those of male radiologists. The incr easing percentage of women in the profession will have little effect o n the number of radiologists and radiation oncologists needed.