Prophet, Shabnam A. Always On Call: Navigating Motherhood and a Career in Emergency Medicine. Doctoral Capstone Project. Radford University Scholars' Repository.
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Abstract
Background: Over 16 million women in healthcare roles provide over three-fourths of all medical services in the United States. Recent research has acknowledged burnout as a growing problem worldwide and a reason for exits from the field, notably in acute care settings such as emergency medicine. Although labeled as “non-traditional,” women with careers in medicine are more essential now than ever before, as the country faces national shortages of healthcare providers, impacting access to quality care and resulting in a massive influx of individuals turning to local Emergency Departments for medical care. Virginia is especially impacted, where the physician-to-patient ratio continues to worsen each year. Therefore, to retain working mothers in emergency medicine, a better understanding of their experiences and organizational needs is warranted. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of a career in emergency medicine as a healthcare provider on the well-being of working mothers in Northern Virginia, as well as the influence of organizational support on career commitment and retention. Methodology: This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of women Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) in emergency medicine while navigating the demands of motherhood with small children. Seventeen semi-structured interviews were conducted with mothers working in emergency departments in Prince William and Loudon counties in Northern Virginia from January 13 to February 28, 2025. Thematic analysis using inductive coding and constructs from the Jobs Demand-Resource Model or deductive coding were utilized to analyze the data. Results: Four overall themes were identified. Findings showed that the demands of a career in emergency medicine for mothers seep into life at home with negative impacts on them and their families, which in turn impacts their engagement, motivation, and retention professionally. A positive correlation between the well-being and retention of the providers who work for healthcare systems that provide higher levels of organizational support was also shown. Conclusions: Working mothers in emergency departments who feel well-supported by their organizations, peers, and spouses appear more likely to want to stay in their positions. Healthcare organizations and administrators should consider implementing policies that allow for allocated breaktime into shifts, more flexibility and control of work schedules, emergency childcare assistance, to change the taboo call-out culture, and provide a dedicated space with allocated time to pump for the postpartum mother, all without the guilt factor. Identifying and understanding specific needs is the first step to improving the institutional culture and work environment for working mothers in emergency departments, which can be done by simply asking: What do you need?
| Item Type: | Doctoral Capstone Project |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | R Medicine > R Medicine (General) |
| Divisions: | Radford University > Waldron College of Health and Human Services > Department of Public Health and Healthcare Leadership > Health Sciences Program |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Jun 2025 00:12 |
| Last Modified: | 15 Jun 2025 00:12 |
| URI: | http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/1180 |
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