Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40314871›Full record

ArticleCanadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie2025

Female representation in the Canadian physician anesthesia workforce: a historical analysis.

Mitchell Crozier, Jason McVicar, Gianni R Lorello, Miriam Mottiar, C Ruth Wilson, Beverley A Orser

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Article in Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Enhancing support for family physician anesthetists in Canada.Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Representation of women as corresponding authors in Canadian academic anesthesiology.Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Mitchell CrozierDepartment of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Jason McVicarDepartment of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Gianni R LorelloDepartment of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Miriam MottiarDepartment of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
C Ruth WilsonDepartment of Family Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Beverley A OrserDepartment of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada. beverley.orser@utoronto.ca.ORCID 0000-0001-7292-2926

Funding

Research Support, Non-US Gov’t
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeAccording to an analysis of data from the Canadian Institutes for Health Information (CIHI) National Physician Database, the proportion of female anesthesia physicians is substantially lower than the proportion of female physicians in the total physician population. The goal of this study was to identify trends in female representation in the major subgroups of anesthesia providers, including specialists certified by the Royal College of Physician and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), international medical graduates, and family physician anesthetists (FPAs).

methodsWe examined the sex distribution of the existing physician workforce, including anesthesia providers working in urban and rural Canada, using the CIHI National Physician Database (1996-2018). We also examined the sex distribution of physicians entering the workforce using the Canadian Post-MD Education Registry database and calculated descriptive statistics.

resultsThe proportion of female physicians increased steadily over time in all groups; nevertheless, the numbers of female FPAs and rural anesthesia providers continued to lag relative to all Canadian physicians (9.4%, 9.4%, and 26.7%, respectively, in 1996; 18.7%, 21.1%, and 42.1%, respectively, in 2018). Of the graduates from RCPSC training programs in 1996, 28% were female, whereas by 2018, 33.5% of graduates were female.

conclusionsFemale physicians were underrepresented in all subgroups, but the proportions were lowest among FPAs and rural physicians. Given that greater sex diversity in clinical teams is associated with better outcomes, and in light of ongoing workforce shortages, the barriers that prevent female physicians from entering and/or remaining in the anesthesia workforce need to be understood and ameliorated.

Indexed as

AnesthesiologistsAnesthesiologyPhysicians, WomenCanadaDatabases, FactualFemaleForeign Medical GraduatesHumansMalePhysiciansRural Health ServicesWorkforceanesthesiaanesthesiologygender diversityhuman resourcesruralsex distributionurban

Identifiers

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.