10/04/2026
She had a miscarriage at work. Her husband didn't feel any cramps that day, but they both lost a baby.
Dawn Sears, a gastroenterologist for 25 years, brought it up on The Podcast by KevinMD to make a point about fairness. "It's not fair. It's not equal," she said. "But we have to deal with it."
When she started in gastroenterology in the '90s, patients asked, "Where's the old man with white hair who will be taking care of me?" Her answer: "Sorry, would you like your colonoscopy anyway?" She trained with no duty hours and no maternity leave, raised three kids, and became program director and chief.
In her view, women physicians leave because they are trying to carry two worlds at once. Seventy to 85 percent of them are moms, and they are often the ones providing the health care for their families and the elder care too. "The system was designed for someone who is a male, who is married to a female, who is at home taking care of everything."
It shows up in small ways. Women physicians get 25 percent more patient messages than men in the exact same practice, she said, and 26 percent more from their own support staff. One patient she had treated for five years started calling her by her first name in the portal. "Why do you call me Dawn? I'm Dr. Sears."
Her fixes are practical. Let a physician come back from a baby at 50 percent of call and 50 percent of weekends for the first six months. Give women five extra days off for their screenings and their children's well visits. Add support staff for the inbox. Losing her costs half a million to a million dollars, Sears said, far more than the time she is asking for.
And when a colleague pushes back, she asks, "What kind of medical system would you want your daughter to function in, or your wife or your sister?"
Her message to women physicians who are struggling:
"You're doing nothing wrong."
Listen to the full conversation on The Podcast by KevinMD. Link in the comments.
Search "The Podcast by KevinMD" wherever you listen to podcasts
