Context: There have been no national studies comparing women family physicians (FPs) with other physicians; determining FP characteristics is useful in workforce and health systems planning and may also be of inherent interest to FPs and others.
Design and participants: A comparison of the FP (n = 347) and other (n = 4154) respondents to the Women Physicians' Health Study.
Main outcome measures: Personal and clinical practices.
Results: Women FPs are more likely to be US-born and self-defined as politically liberal than were other women physicians. Those graduating from medical school in the 1950s through 1970s were less and those graduating in the 1980s were far more likely to be board certified than were other women physicians. Although their personal and household incomes were significantly lower, their professional satisfaction was similar to those of other women specialists, and they reported a lesser frequency of severe work stress. Personal health-related habits and health status of women FPs were similar to those of other women physicians. For all 14 counseling practices examined, the amount of counseling they reported performing, the clinical relevance they ascribed to those practices, their self-confidence in performing the practices, and the amount of training they received was as high as or higher than that of other women primary care practitioners and usually exceeded those of non-primary care physicians outcomes at the P < .001 level.
Conclusions: Although women FPs resemble other women physicians in some respects, they are more liberal, are professionally well-satisfied, and are relatively avid preventionists.