How gender and race stigmas in the medical field affect the career choices of college students

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine if the racial and gender related stigmas in the medical field affect the choices college students have made to go into the medical field. It has been wellestablished in the literature that racial and gender-related stigmas exist in the medical field. What is currently unknown, and what this research aimed to investigate, is if these present stigmas have any effect on college students’ decisions to pursue careers in the field. To answer this question, I surveyed undergraduate students at Ball State University majoring in Nursing, Pre- Medical, Pre-Optometry, Pre-Dental, and Pre-Physician Assistant (PA) asking them open-ended questions on their beliefs, opinions, and experiences of stigmas related to their major. Responses followed with existing research on the existence of gender and racial stigmas, and the data showed that college students are highly aware of them, even if they have not been directly affected by a microaggression. Additionally, the evidence suggested that a majority of the undergraduate participants found that gender and racial stigmas affected theirs and others’ decisions to pursue a career in the medical field. These stigmas do not only impact the personal well-being and career satisfaction of future medical professionals but are also damaging the drive of college students to pursue a career in medicine.