It is finally time to put aside the old stereotype about male doctors and nurses. According to new data this week from the Association of American Medical Colleges, the expansion of male student students in this year’s top class intake in American medical schools, for the first time in the History and entry generally suggest that there may be more women in the medical field than men in the near future.
According to the data, female registered workers (or registrants) accounted for 50.7% of the 21,338 people who entered medical school this year. Female matricants increased by 3.2% this year while male matricants decreased by 0.3%; However, since 2015, the previous group has increased by 4%, while the last group has decreased by 6.7%.
Those year-over-year are significant, which means that none of them is a hit, indicating that the trend is expected to continue in the near future. So what’s going on behind the change?
“This year’s matriculating class shows that medicine is an increasingly attractive career for women, and that medical schools create an inclusive environment,” said Darrell Kirch, president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, said in a statement.
The efforts of medical schools to promote more diversity can be a contributing factor. The increase in women attending medical school may also be the result of the broader educational movement, both at the college and kindergarten levels, to encourage greater equality in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field. They have largely attracted male students earlier because of cultural stereotypes, a predominance of male teachers and role models, and potentially to the nature of the individuals themselves, and if men and women have cognitive abilities, a question still very much for the debate.
Overall, US medical schools have experienced a 2.6% decline from 2016. The downward trend is also reflected abroad, perhaps because careers are generally considered less lucrative or satisfactory. This is not good news for the world’s medical map.