Physician characteristics and the physician-patient relationship - Impact of sex, year of graduation, and specialty

OBJECTIVE To examine the association of physician sex, medical specialty, a nd year of graduation from medical school with attitudes and behaviours tha t define physician-patient relationships. Hypotheses tested are that women physicians, family physicians, and recent graduates spend more time discuss ing lifestyle and general health issues during patients' first visits; are more likely to report behaviours that are empathetic and that encourage com munication with patients; are less likely to view their role as directive a nd problem-oriented; and are more supportive of patients' rights to informa tion and participation in decision making. DESIGN A survey was mailed to a stratified random sample of physicians betw een February and June 1996. SETTING Physician practices in Ontario. PARTICIPANTS Of 714 practising Ontario physicians, 405 (57%) responded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Proportion of time and actual time spent discussing a patient's lifestyle during a first visit, communication style, attitudes r egarding a directive approach to care, and attitudes regarding patients' ri ghts. RESULTS Women physicians and family physicians spent significantly more tim e discussing lifestyle during a first visit. Women, family physicians, and recent graduates were significantly more likely to report an empathetic com munication style. Women and recent graduates were significantly less likely to have a directive, problem-oriented approach to care. Family physicians were significantly less supportive of patients' rights than medical and sur gical specialists were. CONCLUSIONS Physicians in this study reported empathetic communication styl es and attitudes that support information sharing and patients' rights.