Females Outpacing Male Enrollees in Healthcare Profession Education Pathways
Females Outpacing Male Enrollees in Healthcare Profession Education Pathways
The dominance of females is evident in the majority of students taking up post-graduate health care education programs across various disciplines such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, and veterinary science. This trend has been consistently observed in nursing programs, while in fields like dentistry, it's a more recent development. Here's a breakdown of the gender distribution in each health care professional training program:
Medical School
As per the Association of American Medical Colleges, out of the 97,903 students enrolled in MD-granting medical schools during the 2023-24 academic year, 53,422 were females, accounting for 54.6% of the total.
The field of medicine continues to exhibit significant gender disparities, with some differences being quite substantial. According to 2022-2023 data, females hold a larger share of residents in:
- Obstetrics and gynecology (87.2%).
- Pediatrics/psychiatry/child and adolescent psychiatry (combined) (75.5%).
- Pediatrics (73.6%).
- Allergy and immunology (65.8%).
- Public health and general preventive medicine (65.2%).
- Dermatology (61.7%).
On the other hand, men constituted the majority of physicians in these medical residencies:
- Orthopedic surgery (79.6%).
- Interventional radiology (integrated) (77.5%).
- Neurological surgery (76.2%).
- Radiology-diagnostic (71.8%).
- Urology (67.7%).
Dental School
During the 2023-24 academic year, women made up 56.4% of the first-year enrollment in the nation's 72 dental schools, extending the trend of women becoming the majority of new dental students that started in the 2019-2020 academic year. Currently, females account for 56.7% of the more than 26,500 enrolled dental students.
Pharmacy School
According to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, women made up 67.8% of the students enrolled in first professional pharmacy degree programs for fall 2023. In 2022-23, of the 12,639 first professional degrees awarded in pharmacy, 66.4% went to women.
Nursing Program
When considering just the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) levels, women continue to be the majority of enrollees, despite recent efforts to increase male representation in the profession.
A 2023 survey conducted by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing revealed that men account for only 13% of BSN enrollment, 12% of MSN students, and 15.4% of DNP enrollments.
Veterinary Medicine Schools
The American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges reported that 84% of the veterinary medical class of 2027 are female. This trend of veterinary medicine becoming a predominantly female profession has been ongoing since 2009. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that in 2023, almost 70% of veterinarians were female.
With the health care sector projected to have one of the fastest growth rates in employment over the next decade, the prospects for students currently enrolled in health care education programs look promising. Women are well-positioned to capitalize on this growth and secure leadership positions in the health care field that better reflect their overall presence as practitioners.
- In addition to these fields, veterinarians also contribute significantly to the healthcare industry, with 84% of the veterinary medical class of 2027 being female.
- Higher education in health care professions, including veterinary medicine, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and nursing, is seeing a dominant enrollment of females, as indicated by the Association of American Medical Colleges, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges.
- Following the trend in nursing and dentistry, the field of pharmacy is also witnessing a dominant enrollment of females, with 67.8% of first professional pharmacy degree program students in fall 2023 being female.
- Medically-oriented higher education programs, such as medical school, dental school, pharmacy school, and nursing programs, are showing a consistent dominance of females, with pharmacy and nursing programs having the highest percentage of women enrolled.