Women on the rise in medicine
FEMALE doctors are a more common sight in clinics throughout South Australia as the number of women graduates taking up the profession full time continues to grow.
A FLOOD of female medical graduates are starting to gain a strong foothold in the profession.
In good news for females preferring to discuss their health concerns with a GP of the same sex, figures show the number of women working as doctors has grown from 46.2 per cent of the profession's total workforce in 2005-06 to 53.2 per cent in 2009-10.
This figure is echoed in South Australia, where last year there were 50 full-time female doctors available per 100,000 residents.
Five years earlier, this number was at 40 women GPs for the same number of people.
Australian Medical Association president Dr Andrew Lavender said a flood of female medical graduates were establishing themselves in the profession.
``Probably for about the past two decades we've had increasing numbers of females in medicine courses at university, they're now just starting or really establishing themselves,'' he said.
Dr Lavender said the profession had worked hard to ensure it was one that provided work-life balance for women trying to juggle a demanding career and motherhood.
Preeya Maharaj, 24, works as an intern at the Royal Adelaide Hospital after completing her medicine degree at the University of Adelaide.
``It's a female-friendly profession and you can eventually work as much or as little as you want to,'' she said.
``At the moment I'm physician-based, but I would like to do something medical-minded, where I can do procedures.''