The impact of perceived gender bias on obstetrics and gynecology learning experience among medical interns

Introduction: There is gender bias in teaching and learning Obstetrics and gynecology to undergraduates and studies have shown that mostly male students describe educational inequities. We wanted to explore the effect of the students' gender on their perception of quality and quantity of teaching, the amount of experiential learning, and their interest in obstetrics and gynecology. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional mixed method approach wherein 96 internees (both lady interns and male interns) who had completed the OBG posting after taking their written informed consent, were given 18 point anonymous questionnaire comprising items about their learning experience and procedures. Two focus group discussions of 12 internees, who were grouped into girls and boys group, was conducted. The data was analyzed using Fischer exact test at 5% significance level. All the responses of FGD were transcribed, coded, grouped together into different themes and analyzed. Results: Female interns conducted more number of deliveries compared to males. Patients' refusal to give history was statistically significant for males than females. Male interns were significantly less confident with managing gynecological problems compared to females. FGD revealed that patient factors like religion, better educational status, higher socio-economic level & people around the interns like postgraduates and nurses, sought female preference and also refusal from patients' side. Conclusion: All these factors led to discrimination for male interns to learn and choose OBG as career.