More males needed in medical graduate jobs, says researcher

Male medical graduates are in high demand, it has been suggested.

A senior research fellow at the University of Edinburgh has claimed that the overflow of female doctors in medical graduate jobs could create problems in primary care provision.

Brian McKinstry called for more males to take up a graduate career as a doctor so that there is a better balance between the two genders in the field.

Patient care, education, and research and development could be at risk as women are more likely to work part time, it is reported in the British Medical Journal.

However, females do not occupy the top medical jobs, according to Jane Dacre from University College London.

She argued that the attitude towards flexible working, career breaks and the provision of childcare should be reviewed.

'There is quite a developing evidence base that female doctors are not inferior to male doctors, but in fact are doing better in terms of getting into medical school and in their exams,' Ms Dacre said.

Females entering medical graduate jobs outnumber their male counterparts by three to two, with the researcher calling for more graduate career opportunities to be created rather than for the focus to shift to the individuals' gender.