Resident attrition: is gender a factor?

This study was undertaken to identify the causes of resident attrition from obstetrics and gynecology on the basis of gender. Study design Two sequential questionnaires were sent to the 246 obstetrics and gynecology residency programs in the United States in March 2001 and May 2002. The programs were asked for the number of residents who left from 1997 to 2001, the postgraduate years, and genders of those residents, the reasons for leaving, and program demographics. Statistical analysis was performed with χ2 and odds ratio calculations. Results The rate of attrition was 3% over 4 years. Female residents were 2.5 to 5 times as likely as male residents to leave because of family issues, specifically for reasons related to spouses (P = .002). Female residents were one quarter as likely to leave to change specialty (P = .002), whereas this was the principal reason of more than half of the male residents who left. Conclusion Important gender differences do exist in the reasons for attrition from obstetrics and gynecology residency programs.