Gender Disparities in Academic Outcomes Among Graduates of a Canadian MD-PhD Program

Abstract

Purpose: Women have traditionally been underrepresented in MD and MD-PhD training programs. Here, we describe the changing demographics of an MD-PhD Program over three distinct time intervals. Methods: We designed a 64-question survey and sent it to 47 graduates of the McGill University MD-PhD program in Montréal, Québec, Canada, since its inception in 1985. We also sent a 23-question survey to the 24 students of the program in 2021. The surveys included questions related to demographics, physician-scientist training, research metrics, as well as academic and personal considerations.Results: We collected responses from August 2020 to August 2021 and grouped them into three intervals based on respondent graduation year: 1995–2005 (n = 17), 2006–2020 (n = 23) and current students (n = 24). Total response rate was 90.1% (n = 64/71). We found that there are more women currently in the program compared to the 1995–2005 cohort (41.7% increase, p<0.01). In addition, women self-reported as physician-scientists less frequently than men and reported less protected research time. Conclusions: Overall, recent MD-PhD alumni represent a more diverse population compared with their earlier counterparts. Identifying barriers to training remains an important step in ensuring MD-PhD trainees become successful physician-scientists.