The intersection of personal and professional lives for male and female diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2015.

Abstract

To characterize objective and subjective elements of the personal lives of American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) diplomates and identify elements of personal life associated with professional life or career success.836 ACVS diplomates.An 81-item questionnaire was sent to 1,450 diplomates in 2015 via email and conducted by means of an online platform. Responses were analyzed to summarize trends and identify associations among selected variables.Men were more likely than women to be married or in a domestic partnership (88% vs 68%, respectively) and to have children (77% vs 47%). Among women but not men, respondents in large animal practice were less likely than were those in small animal practice to be represented in these categories. Women had children later in their career than did men and indicated that their stage of training played an important role in family planning. Respondents with children worked significantly fewer hours than did those without children, with a greater reduction in hours for women versus men (6.0 vs 3.1 hours, respectively). Women were more likely to require external childcare services than were men. Women were more likely to report that having children had negatively impacted their professional lives. No negative associations between measures of professional success (eg, advancement or personal income) and parenthood were identified.Family demographics differed between male and female ACVS diplomates, yet no objective impact on career success was identified. Work-life balance may play an important role in recruitment, retention, and job satisfaction of veterinary surgeons.