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Sex, Gender, and Medicine

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Burnout in Women Physicians

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Abstract

Mounting evidence shows that biological sex and gender impacts how our bodies and brains work. As our traditional scientific model, heavily influenced by misguided policies and ingrained cultures, is rooted in the belief that males and females are interchangeable outside of our reproductive zones, it’s time for a scientific reboot. Depending upon the context, our chromosomes, hormones, and life experiences effect our lives in ways which are both inconsequential and critically important. To practice up-to-date medicine and optimize our own resiliency, it’s important to understand and openly discuss these very real differences. This introductory chapter is designed as a “sex and gender boot camp” and will review basic definitions, explore clinical and professional examples of sex and gender differences, provide a template for framing differences, and share the author’s personal experiences in discovering this material and using it to become more resilient.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, MA, USA

    Jeannette Wolfe

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  1. Jeannette Wolfe
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Correspondence to Jeannette Wolfe .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ, USA

    Cynthia M. Stonnington

  2. Division of Women’s Health Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ, USA

    Julia A Files

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Wolfe, J. (2020). Sex, Gender, and Medicine. In: Stonnington, C., Files, J. (eds) Burnout in Women Physicians. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44459-4_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44459-4_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-44458-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-44459-4

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