Nov 2, 2015 | Olivia Hung, MD, PhD
Career Development

A recent Fellows-in-Training & Early Career Page, published the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, discussed some barriers and opportunities for women in cardiology. This article by Nishaki Mehta Oza, MD, and Khadijah Breathett, MD, along with the response by Sandra Lewis, MD, FACC, provides an excellent foundation for me to share some musings on being a female cardiology fellow.

The American Board of Internal Medicine publishes annual statistics on trainees in Internal Medicine and its subspecialties. Over the past 10 years (2004 – 2014), the percentage of female PGY-3 internal medicine residents and first year fellows (any specialty) has increased from 41 percent to 45 percent and 34 percent to 38 percent, respectively. In cardiovascular diseases, the percentage of first year female fellows is lower, but has also increased over this 10-year period, from 17 percent to 21 percent. The procedural sub-subspecialties have even more skewed ratios, with females comprising only 10 – 12 percent of first year clinical cardiac electrophysiology fellows and 4 – 10 percent of first year interventional cardiology fellows.

So what is it like to be a single woman training in cardiovascular diseases? First of all, I love this field. I enjoy interacting with my patients and working up referrals for palpitations and poorly controlled blood pressure. There are unforgettable experiences in auscultation, from hearing the diastolic rumble of a patient with severe rheumatic mitral stenosis to the changes in murmur character upon squatting and standing in a patient with systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve. I have also gained more appreciation for vascular biology, as I research coronary physiology and its impact on atherosclerosis development. I cannot envision my career in any other specialty.

There are times, however, when I envy my medical school friends who have finished their training and are now in practice. Not only is there a stark difference between five-figure and six-figure salaries, but there is also a feeling that they have truly embarked upon their careers while I am still in some sort of training limbo. To me, this is more of a detriment toward pursuing a career in cardiology than more frequently cited ones, like family planning and poor work-life balance.

Millennials are postponing having children longer now compared with past generations, regardless of field, and I am not bothered by my single status. I have the freedom to do what I want at this moment without having to worry about a husband or children. I can choose to spend my hard-earned money on student loan payments or a shiny new iPhone, without someone else frowning over my budget. I also value the solitude that comes with being single, as it gives me time to think and reflect.

Of course, there are times when I feel pressed to get married and have children – mostly at family reunions and work-related social functions. Perhaps it’s just that the topic of marriage and family is easy to talk about, but it does get irritating when I hear , “what, you’re still not married?!” for the umpteenth time.

Surveys indicate that women choose not to pursue cardiology fellowship because they are concerned about family planning or poor work/life balance. I take issue with the way these results are presented, because they infer that women who choose to go into cardiology do not value family or themselves. On the contrary, I feel that the field of cardiology is large enough and flexible enough for each of us to carve out our own ideas of family and work/life balance, and most importantly, to fulfill our dreams by having a productive and satisfying career.

To read the article listed in the first paragraph, please click here.

By Olivia Hung, MD, PhD, a fellow in training at Emory University Hospital.