What is the impact of a career in gynecologic oncology on personal life

Objectives: Training, academic responsibilities, and clinical practice in gynecology oncology are demanding. Our objective was to describe work-life balance issues for gynecologic oncologists (GO) in 2015. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of physician members of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology. A survey originally sent to female GOs in 1998 was expanded, piloted in 10 volunteers, and administered in electronic format (DatStat Illume) in February 2015. Our revised instrument contained 75 fixed response questions regarding 4 domains: (1) demographics; (2) mentoring issues; (3) work-life balance; and (4) caregiving responsibilities. Data were analyzed using Stata 10 (Statacorp, College Station TX) with χ2 analysis and the Fisher exact test using aggregate data functions. Results: Of 1,246 GOs, 268 completed the survey. Of these, 172 (64%) were female and 96 (36%) were male; 69 (26%) were 30 to 40 years of age, 75 (28%) were 41 to 50 years of age, and 55 (21%) were older than 50 years. Two hundred thirty-five (88%) were married or living with a partner and 38 (14%) were divorced. One hundred forty-four (54%) were in academic practice and 56 (21%) were in fellowship. Seventy-four respondents (28%) had no children, 45 (17%) had 1 child, and 149 (56%) had 2 or more children. Of the 63 without children, 11 (18%) do not plan on becoming a parent in the future. Of these, 6 (55%) felt their career had a moderate or large impact on the decision to not become a parent. One hundred thirty-two (68%) respondents felt that their career somewhat or very much affected the timing of having children, and 64 (33%) felt that their career plans somewhat or very much affected their decision to become a parent. Of those who are parents, 140 (72%) thought residency or fellowship was the best time to become a parent. One hundred thirty-five (70%) reported that children decreased their academic productivity, and 40 (21%) felt that children decreased their clinical performance. Most relied on a spouse, relative, or nanny for childcare, and 55 (28%) bring their children to work occasionally or frequently. Among the female respondents, 33 (19%) had used assisted reproductive technology; of women without children, 20 (44%) would consider cryopreservation to delay childbearing. Forty-seven participants (18%) reported being the primary caregiver for an elder and 16 (34%) of those have taken family leave for this purpose. Conclusions: Among GOs, career choices influence decision-making surrounding personal lives.