Patients of Female Surgeons Less Likely to Die
An extensive study recently published in the British Medical Journal has found that “patients who had been operated on by a female surgeon were a whopping 12 percent less likely to die during the following 30 days of recovery,” IFLScience.com reported.
The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Toronto, looked at 104,630 patients who underwent surgery between 2007 and 2015. They not only found that female surgeons were more likely to keep their patients alive at least 30 days after the surgery, they also found “that fewer patients treated by female surgeons were readmitted to hospital within that timeframe, or had other complications.”
“Women and men practice medicine differently, although little research exists on the differences in learning styles, acquisition of skills, or outcomes for female and male surgeons,” the researchers stated. “We don’t know the mechanism that underlies better outcomes for patients treated by female surgeons, although it might be related to delivery of care that is more congruent with guidelines, more patient-centered, and involves superior communication.”
The hope is that this study will help alleviate any lingering bias that women are less capable than men in the medical field.
