Women have it at least as hard as men

Editor—We were appalled to read the article Gender and Extracurricular Passions.¹ Regardless of the country of training, we believe that there are some fundamental basics that need to be tackled here. The reasons why women do not do as well in preclinical training as men, if this really is the case, are unclear. It could be due to several factors, including the teaching culture and the level of initial support for women training in medicine.

Although discussing the many pressures upon male students, the author discounts the amount of pressure placed upon female students to have children, to keep themselves fashionable despite hectic schedules, and to present themselves in a feminine manner while surviving in the primarily male dominated culture of the hospital. The suggestion that examiners are more lenient towards women because of our feminine appeal makes us question the integrity of Nigerian medical graduates in general.

1. Abimbola S. Gender and extracurricular passions. studentBMJ 2005;13:438. (November.)