Aims Gastroenterology has traditionally been a male-dominated field. Recently, there has
been a marked increase in the number of women in gastroenterology. The aims of this
study were to determine the patient preferences for the gender of their endoscopist
and satisfaction with endoscopy.
Methods Consecutive subjects≥18 years old completed an anonymous questionnaire prior to their
outpatient endoscopy. Data collected included demographics and patient preferences
for the gender of their endoscopist. Prior to discharge from the endoscopy suite,
they completed a post-procedure questionnaire that assessed their satisfaction with
endoscopy
Results A total of 142 subjects (mean age 62.0±11.8 years) had an endoscopic procedure performed
by a female (55.6%) or male (44.4%) gastroenterologist. Overall, 24.6% of patients
preferred a female gastroenterologist, 16.2% preferred a male gastroenterologist,
and 59.2% had no preference. Female patients were significantly more likely to have
a preference for the gender of their endoscopist as compared with male patients (76.5%
vs. 36.0%, p=0.001) and were significantly more likely to prefer a female endoscopist
(64.7% vs. 19.2%, p<0.001). Among women who preferred a female endoscopist, the reasons
cited included less embarrassment with a female doctor (100.0%), a female endoscopist
is gentler than a male (72.7%), but none cited that a female endoscopist has more
expertise than a male. Among men who preferred a male endoscopist, the reasons cited
included less embarrassment with a male doctor (81.0%), a male endoscopist has more
expertise than a female (33.3%), and a male endoscopist is gentler than a female (9.5%).
In order to get the gender of their preference, women were more likely than men to
be willing to wait≥7 days (35.3% vs. 15.2%, p=0.04) and to wait≥15 minutes the day
of their endoscopy (64.7% vs. 40.8%, p=0.06), but would not avoid having their endoscopy
(5.9% vs. 6.4%, p=0.93). Overall, women were less likely than men to rate their endoscopic
experience as very good to excellent (64.7% vs. 85.6%, p=0.03). Of the patients who
had a gender preference, those who had their gender of choice for the endoscopy were
significantly less likely to prefer a different gender in the future (0.0% vs. 68.4%,
p<0.001).
Conclusions Women are more likely to have a preference for the gender of their endoscopist than
men. The increasing number of female gastroenterologists may have an overall positive
impact on women's satisfaction with endoscopy and, efforts should continue to recruit
female physicians into the field of gastroenterology.
