Women surgeons: career and lifestyle comparisons among surgical subspecialties.

A national survey of 459 women surgeons yielded a 91.3 percent response rate. The largest subspecialties were obstetrics-gynecology (41 percent), ophthalmology (21 percent), and general surgery (12 percent). Representation in all "other" surgical specialties was small (26 percent). A comparison of career and lifestyle patterns among the four major subspecialties demonstrated no differences in marital status, although ophthalmologists were least likely to remain childless (32 percent) and general surgeons most likely (58 percent). Surgeons in obstetrics-gynecology worked the longest hours, and those in ophthalmology worked the shortest hours. No subspecialty differences were reported in quality-of-life parameters.