For the first time, more women than men are going to med school, according to new data from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Enrollment trends overall suggest there may well be more women in the medical field than men in the future.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the current ratio is 55 percent female to 45 percent male in the veterinary market (private and public). Not since 1986 since has there been an equal number of male and female students attending U.S. veterinary schools. More than 80 percent of students are women in this year’s class.
Source: Quartz, December 20, 2017.
Overall, US medical schools saw a 2.6% decrease in applications from 2016. That downward trend is reflected overseas as well, possibly because physician careers in general are being viewed as less lucrative or satisfying than other STEM-related* pursuits. It’s not good news for the world’s looming doctor shortage.
*STEM: science, technology, engineering, mathematics
Also see: Veterinary medicine is a woman’s world, American Veterinarian, May 7, 2017.
For the first time, the AAVMC collected data on the certified veterinary technician workforce. Not surprising, nearly 90 percent of those jobs are held by women.
INSIGHTS: It will be interesting to see how the human medical community manages its gender shift. Animal health is frequently considered behind human medicine. Maybe this time, animal health will provide models that work to meet the inherent gender challenges for which we are adjusting.