Research Article
Transition into Academia: Challenges Faced by Female New Medical Educators
Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Malaysia
*Corresponding author: Suhaila Sanip, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Pandan Indah, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, E-mail: suhaila.s@usim.edu.my
Received: August 19, 2017 Accepted: August 23, 2017 Published: August 29, 2017
Citation: Sanip S. Transition into Academia: Challenges Faced by Female New Medical Educator. Madridge J Womens Health Emancipation. 2017; 1(1): 16-21. doi: 10.18689/mjwh-1000105
Copyright: © 2017 The Author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Gender gap in the top management of academic institution remains as a prominent issue that many institutions and agencies are trying to mitigate. Many female academics are found to be falling behind in terms of their career progressions despite the myriad of incentives currently provided. This study aims to explore the contributing factors that are perceived by female new medical educators (NMEs) as either supporting or hindering their transitional learning processes. These factors are likely to determine whether they stay or leave the academia. It is crucial that medical education providers are cognizant of such factors so that improvement measures can be offered accordingly. In this comparative longitudinal qualitative research conducted in Malaysia and the United Kingdom, NMEs were interviewed three times over one year about the factors that they perceived as affecting their learning processes during their transition into academia. It was found that life partners, family members and female mentors are the crucial factors that affected the learning of the female NMEs. The form of support however, can be different depending on the countryʼs cultural context.
Keywords: Female academics; Family-career balance; Transition into academia.
Introduction
Over the years, many studies have been conducted to observe various aspects
surrounding the challenges faced by women in academia. Despite these studiesʼ
recommendation for improving the working environment of women in academia, many
challenges perpetuate, resulting in gender imbalance in the academic top positions. The
learning of NMEs in the workplace could be affected by many factors, some of them include
female gender [1] and racial minority [2]. These factors were likely to support or hinder
NMEsʼ learning depending on the affordances available in the particular workplace [3, 4].
The early career stage is a critical transition point that is commonly associated with
barriers and drawbacks. Female NMEsʼ are likely to be subjected to more challenges,
both at the workplace and at home, due to cultural expectations around their roles in
the family [5] as a majority of them are at the child-bearing age group. Early-career
female researchers face a number of marginal kicks or drawbacks producing constrained
career choices and preventing some of them from successfully translating their
capabilities into sufficient scientific rewards and career advancement [6]. It has been
shown that males are more likely to achieve tenure than their female colleagues with
children [7]. The marginal kicks and drawbacks are sometimes augmented through
feedback loops, where disadvantages in one context hamper womenʼs chances of
succeeding in another, and vice versa. These feedback loops have no particular starting
or consummation points, and several loops may operate simultaneously to form
cumulative disadvantages [6].
The literature has shown that stress may induce a negative
impact on the learning capabilities of an adult [8, 9]. It is
therefore reasonable to postulate that female NMEsʼ face a
more difficult transition. Experiencing difficulties early in an
academic career, with lack of female academic mentors
available to provide support, could be partially why women
choose to leave academia, especially in Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines [2]. Ackers
(2004) argues how female academic lose opportunities to
develop career and research networking, as their mobility
across institutional and national boundaries may be
particularly challenged due to family obligations [10]. Losing
networking opportunities [11], being absent on maternity
leave and working on a part-time basis could lead to womenʼs
insufficient social ties to institutional gatekeepers and more
experienced research colleagues6. These key factors could
probably be the explanation for the disproportionate female
attrition rates [12]. As a mean of progressing in academia,
participants in Wilson (2017) studies admitted that planning
and developing strategies to manage periods of absence (for
example maternity leave) or part time work was a pivotal
factor that lead to their success [13].
This study aimed to explore what factors were perceived
by NMEs, which a majority of them were females, as supporting
or hindering their transitional learning processes. The initial
email invitation recruited twelve female and seven male
NMEs, while the snowballing technique recruited a further
four female NMEs. As the researcher is also a female academic,
it came to no surprise that the participants tend to focus on
female-related issues during interviews, such as the challenges
in achieving family-life and career balance. Although other
themes also emerged from this study, only themes predicated
upon the female NMEs will be reported in this article.
Methods
This study was conducted in both Malaysia and the United
Kingdom using a longitudinal qualitative interview approach
over a period of more than one year. The recruitment of NMEs
was carried out through several means, primarily through
communication with Deans of public medical schools both in
Malaysia and the UK. As this study focused at the learning
processes of NMEs in transition, purposive sampling was
chosen to fulfil the inclusion criteria, which were the NMEs are
required to possess a medical degree with less than a year of
teaching experience and were actively involved in teaching
medical students. The exclusion criteria were NMEs who did
not satisfy any one of the requisite inclusion criterion.
NMEs that fulfilled the inclusion criteria in Malaysia and
the UK were contacted via email and were invited to participate
in the study. The participant information statement and
informed consent form were attached in each email to ensure
that each participant received adequate information
explaining the purpose of the study and the extent of their
involvement. Participation in the study was entirely on a
voluntary basis in which participants can freely choose to
withdraw if they so desire. The first and final semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to face while the second
semi-structured interviews were conducted via telephone.
Transcribed data was analysed thematically using an emergent
coding frame.
Results
Life partners, family members and mentors were the
themes that emerged across the female NMEs in this study.
Life Partner
Some of the NMEsʼ in this study feel that it was
advantageous to have a life partner of the same profession as
they can relate to the NMEsʼ career prospects. A life partner
with a similar career was helpful to NMEs in discussing their
professional development and career progression. NMEs were
also able to collaborate with their life partner in terms of
research and publications when the two of them worked
within the same clinical discipline. However, possessing a
spouse with similar profession is not without its own set of
challenges. They illustrated how they had problems looking
after their children when they both had to attend the same
courses or conferences. As such, one of the NMEsʼ have to
inexorably sacrifice their academic career whenever the family
demands where high. Having a life partner in the same
discipline could also be very challenging to some NMEs
because although they can work together as collaborators,
they have to refrain themselves from each otherʼs shadows
and shine in their own limelight.
“People from other professions may not be able to
appreciate and understand the commitment of your
profession. Whereas if itʼs somebody from the same
profession who appreciates and understands where
youʼre coming from, I think it makes a big difference to
the harmony of the house… I feel that if my husband
was not a medic, I donʼt think I would have been able
to progress in my career as much as I have.” (Aisha, UK,
Interview 3)
Having a life partner from a different profession could
be both advantageous and disadvantageous to NMEs. It is
much simpler to plan family time together given that the
spouse did not work in shifts such as the NMEsʼ. However, a
life partner from a different career background may not be
able to comprehend or relate to the workload of NMEs and
this could potentially lead to marital conflict. Lucy, who
was still in clinical training, for example was not ready to
have a child due to her personal unwillingness to delay the
progression of her career compared to her colleagues as
she would have to take some time off from training to
raise her child. Although her life partner had been
supportive of her idea of not having children at the
moment, she was also concerned that she would have
more complications should she have a child at a later age.
She had also been sacrificing her family time with her life
partner to meet the requirements of her job and she knew
that this might not be good for her marriage in the long run. The following quote illustrates Lucyʼs solicitude about
trying to balance her career and her family life with her life
partner:
“It takes a certain person to motivate themselves to
spend all the extra time and youʼre willing to make a
massive sacrifice … Obviously I am a woman so I am
thinking about children … well I do my PhD … itʼs quite
hard to balance all these things. I think sacrificing is hard
on your personal relationship at home because you spent a
lot of time doing the work … Itʼs really hard to balance
everything and you only got a finite amount of time but I
think itʼs definitely possible but I think you have to really
want to do it from within.” (Lucy, UK, Interview 1)
Although Lucy thought that maternity leave would
delay her career progression, other NMEs who had had
taken maternity leave during their academic career had
thought otherwise, believing that it only became a hindrance
to their learning progression if they did not prepare
beforehand. The female NMEs perceived that good planning
and time management were necessary to ensure their
academic work can continue to flourish even when they are
on leave. Therefore, they believe that the short duration of
maternity leave (two to three months) did not affect their
career progression.
“You know when is the expected due date for your
delivery … unless you need to submit something during
your maternity leave then you can think of that [maternity
leave] as an obstacle for you but then for me no because I
worked before that… I prepared everything so that I had a
complete rest.” (Rita, Malaysia, Interview 3)
For the NMEs in the UK, most of them took one year
of maternity leave to only take a break from their clinical
practice while still being very much involved it their other
academic works, such as writing articles for publication,
attending scientific meetings and presenting at conferences.
“Iʼm involved in quite a big international treatment
guidelines work and papers I have to send in by the end of
June so all of that ended up happening on maternity leave
and revising papers in the evening and stuff like that. The
[professional society] asked me to serve as a kind of liaison
member to a committee that are writing guidelines for the
UK. So I have been on teleconference for that guidelines
group… I have been doing a few talks, which is really for
my personal thing because I get paid for doing it by the
drug companies… I was at the conference on Wednesday in
Glasgow … that was like a little expert workshop … and
then we got this other conference, which is related to the
international treatment guidelines next week.” (Ruby, UK,
Interview 3)
Immediate family
Immediate family support, which in this case came from
parents and parents-in-laws, was also an important factor
influencing the learning of NMEs. For some NMEs in Malaysia, their retired parents-in-law were willing to look after their
children when they went to work. Farah for example left her
children at her parents-in lawʼs house during the daytime. She
felt that she could be more productive at work with her heart
at ease knowing that her children are within safe and trusted
hands as compared to leaving them to be cared by her maid
or at a nursery.
“My mother-in-law takes care of my children. I fetched
them at dusk… So that one is a relief that I donʼt have to
rely on any baby sitter. I have my own family taking care of
my kids. So at least my mind is at ease… whether they ate…
bathed… pray...” (Farah, Malaysia, Interview 3)
In the UK, Ruby also received support from her mother,
who, at one instance, accompanied her to a conference to
take care of her newborn child. Ruby would not have been
able to attend the conference if her mother had not supported
her and gone along, because her baby was still breast-feeding.
“My little baby was going to conferences … with my
mum.” (Ruby, UK, Interview 3)
NMEs who were parents felt more reposed when their
immediate family members were around to lend a hand as
they can thoroughly be trusted with the responsibility of
temporary childcare.
Female Mentors
Some female NMEs expressed the need for female
mentors to talk to regarding the expected challenges of
raising a family for young academics and how such challenges
should be faced or handled. They wanted to make an informed
choice if they were planning to have children in their academic
career, especially in the transition stage. For female NMEs,
raising a family would involve taking time out for maternity
leave and therefore, protraction of their career progression.
“Itʼs really hard for women in academia … because … if
you are going to have a child youʼre gonna have to have a
period of time out and your peers are gonna progress in that
time and when you come back youʼre gonna have different
responsibilities and I donʼt think I can sacrifice the thing I am
sacrificing if I have a child”. (Lucy, UK, Interview 1)
As raising a family was a big decision to make, female
NMEs wanted to learn from female academics which exemplify
success both in raising a family and their academic career.
Iʼd really like for someone to come along and say to
me you know I am an academic, I am in your position, I
worried about the children thing and when to have them
and the timing and how it affected my career and this is
what happened and … it worked out.” (Lucy, UK, Interview 1)
Lucyʼs personal dilemma was probably faced by other
female NMEs around the world. Although not all female NMEs
thought that maternity leave was stopping their career
progression, for those who did, they wished for female role
models to guide them on their career choices.
The need to have female academic mentors may have
been fuelled by a perception among female NMEs that family
and work life balance was difficult to achieve. The opportunity
to talk to successful female academics was suggested as a
mean of gaining confidence that such balance could be
achieved. The female NMEs also perceived that male academic
mentors would not be able to understand the sacrifices female
NMEs made to their motherhood and family life because the
male academic mentors either did not have children of their
own or they had a wife to look after their children.
“The other professor … sheʼs a very successful academic
as a woman, 2 kids and a husband whoʼs an anaesthetist ...
sheʼs very aware of funding schemes and sheʼs very involved
in a lot of the career … NIHR jobs and that kind of things.
So sheʼs a good person to talk to … sheʼs quite involved in
the uni [university] side and she understands the female
side so sheʼs useful for that because the other two are both
men who either donʼt have children or have children and a
wife.” (Lucy, UK, Interview 1)
The female NMEs in Malaysia did not express a strong
need for female mentors possibly because they did not see
motherhood as an impediment to their career.
Motivation for choosing an academic career
It was noted that some NMEs in Malaysia decided to
become medical educators as it enabled them to settle down
permanently in their very own hometown or in the booming
urban areas. Any doctors working for the Ministry of Health
are expected to move between hospitals as instructed by the
ministry to fill vacant posts. However, the NMEsʼ can remain
within the designated medical school of a particular state
without being expected to relocate to other places unless
they willingly choose to do so.
“The truth is [I became a medical educator] because I
want to stay in [a state in the east coast of Malaysia].”
(Hafizah, Malaysia, Interview 1)
As expected, this motive was prevalent among the
Malaysian participants. This motive, however, was not prevalent
in the UK, as doctors and NMEsʼ are willing to move about for
new jobs or career promotions amidst the fierce job
competition and uncertain job security environment of the UK.
“It depends on what I want and who to talk to and
this… will be a big move, I think I need to think a bit about
the move really, to be honest, Oxford or Cambridge are
possible, it depends, I need to kind of pick …and get to
know people, so thatʼs kind of the next step.” (Ruby, UK,
Interview 3)
The tendency for NMEs to work as medical educators in
their hometown could be due to the proximity of immediate
family members for support. For NMEs who opt to work as
medical educators in big cities, their decision could be
predicated upon the availability of jobs for their life partner
and the infrastructure needed for themselves and possibly for
their families.
Discussion
In this study, the female NMEs were able to negotiate
their transitions into academia and achieve more in their
careers when their life partners or family members provided
them with emotional and childcare support. To date, there are
no studies that report on the influence of support networks
such as life partner and immediate family members to the
learning of NMEs, even though they are consequential
individuals in the NMEsʼ lives. The majority of the NMEs in this
study were female and of childbearing age, and therefore it
was unsurprising that they discussed mostly about family
issues and trying to attain a harmonious work-life balance.
Previous studies of support networks or stress have
concentrated on the influence of support networks or strains
on health and wellbeing14. Although previous researchers
postulated that supports and strains were inversely correlated,
interestingly, such correlations are inexistent except for the
people who were close to the person: for example, the spouse,
life partner or family members [15, 16]. When life partners or
immediate family members are not supportive to the NMEs, it
is possible that they could become a strain to NMEsʼ emotions,
hence potentially hindering the NMEsʼ learning progression.
In this study, the female NMEs in the UK, who were on
longer maternity leaves, were found to be involved in
academic activities during their maternity leave, which was
similar to that reported by other researcher [17]. Although the
median parental leave duration taken by the graduate medical
education trainees (GME) in Blair et al.ʼs study was only five to
eight weeks, compared to one year in the UK and three
months in Malaysia, the GMEs were found to be involved in
research, writing scholarly papers, pursuing advanced degree
or other training, mentoring students, attending conferences
and studying for examination. Blair et al. (2015) argued that
the female GMEs were still involved in academic activities
during parental leave to ensure that their career advancement
would not be halted [17]. The concern of the female GMEs
about their career advancement in Blair et al.ʼs study is similar
to the concern of some participants in this study, who
appeared to be delaying pregnancy until after completion of
postgraduate training.
The impact of parental leave was seen to affect women
more than men although male GMEs were likely to be taking
parental leave of shorter duration [17]. The lack of job security
could possibly serve as the main motivation behind the
continuous effort of NMEsʼ in their academic career even
though they are on their maternity leave. The findings from
Blair et al. (2015) and my study indicated that studies on the
full impact of parental leave on female postgraduate traineesʼ
and NMEsʼ career progression are timely and very much
required. The findings from such studies could help policy
makers to draft policies that could ameliorate the progression
of female trainees and NMEs in their career.
Some female NMEs described how their transition into
academia was easier because they provided with forms of
legitimate peripheral participation [18] which facilitated their entry into the community of practice by their very own
mentors. This took the form of inviting them to attend
meetings and be involved in writing papers as well as
introducing them to people who could assist them in their
career advancement. Female academic mentors were needed
by female NMEs in this study to act as an experienced advisor
who could guide them as to how to manage their family,
while simultaneously be successful in an academic career. The
requirement for female academic role models has been
reported in the literature for many years [1,19]. The need for
female academic role models expressed by some female
NMEs in my study suggests that this perpetuating issue
remains unresolved to date.
The lack of female academic role models in medical
education can be attributed to a perceived delay in career
progression compared to male colleagues due to maternity
leave or other family commitments. Although more women
are holding higher posts in academia, there is still a lack of
potential female academic role models because not all senior
female academics fit the role of becoming an example for
others. Jessica Lober Newsome reported for the UK Resource
Centre for Women in SET (Science, Engineering and
Technology) and the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2008 that
female academics wanted female academic role models who
do not have male characteristics, must still be married and
must have children [20]. This suggests that female NMEs
require role models who they can identify and relate with
more easily.
Medical education providers should consider the need for
female role models by female NMEs more seriously. These
NMEs should be given ample support as a means of retaining
females in academia. However, the providence of such
support, particularly in a one-on-one basis is impossible due
to the shortage of eligible female mentors. Thus, it is therefore
more suitable to carry out the female academic role modelling
in the form of a seminar or a forum. The seminar or forum
would have an added advantage for the female NMEs because
they would get to meet other NMEs who share their concerns
about raising a family. The environment of a seminar or a
forum is also less intimidating compared to a one-to-one
session. However, the department should try their upmost
best in accommodating the needs of NMEsʼ who prefer a one-
to-one session. For female NMEs who are worried that raising
a family will hinder their learning progression, talking to other
female academics who did not find raising family an obstacle
would alleviate their worry. They could still carry on with their
academic work during maternity leave, but that is entirely up
to them to decide after weighing up the pros and cons of
their decision.
In the UK, higher education institutions are committed to
supporting women in sciences with their career, especially
academics, through the Athena SWAN charter. Through
membership of the Athena SWAN charter, the institutions are
committed to addressing gender inequalities and the
underrepresentation of women in science, technology,
engineering, mathematics and medicine [21]. The female NMEs in the UK therefore, should be aware of the charter and
how their institution is committed to supporting them in their
academic career. The Malaysian Ministry of Womenʼs Affairs
had also revealed plans to offer more flexible working hours
for those officers who attain a minimal annual appraisal mark
of more than eighty-five percent [22]. This effort is being
introduced to help female officers to have a better work-life
balance. The academic institution in Malaysia should also
consider providing similar assistance to female NMEs in an
effort to reduce the numbers of female academics leaving
academia due to work-life imbalance.
Conclusion
This study has shown that female NMEs are clearly struggling in their transition from clinical practice into academia. Life partners, family members and female mentors have been identified as factors supporting the transition of female academics into academia although the form of support may be different depending on countryʼs cultural context. The findings from this study have provided evidence to justify the need for medical education to pay more attention to female NMEs, particularly in the transition phase. When female NMEs are given the attention and support which they rightly deserve, they are likely to develop into more competent medical educators who will continue to progress in their academic career.
Ethical Approval
Ethical approvals were granted by Division of Research and Development, Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia and the University of Leedsʼ Medical and Dental Educational Research Committee (EdREC). The granting of ethical approvals from Malaysia and the UK and adherence to the approvals were the assurance to the participants that this study had been conducted in an ethical manner.
Acknowledgment
I am immensely grateful to the participants in this study for their willingness to spend their precious time getting involved, and for their invaluable contributions in sharing personal experiences, thoughts and ideas, which have provided the foundation for this work.
Conflict of Interest
The author has no conflicts of interest to declare
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