“My Better Half”: Partner Experiences of Women Cardiothoracic Surgeons

M. Vicki. Papageorge¹, B. Cangut², T. Rajah³, S. Sakowitz⁴, R. Boyd⁵, N. Lin⁶, M. Stanley⁷, S. Blackmon⁸, D. Molena⁹, A. Watkins¹⁰, S. G.. Worrell¹¹, M. Antonoff^12
1Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut ²Mount Sinai Hospital/NY, New York, New York ³University of Birmingham, Nottingham, England ⁴UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California ⁵Duke University, Cary, North Carolina ⁶Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California ⁷Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island ⁸Baylor, Houston, Texas ⁹Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York ¹⁰Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, Burlington, Massachusetts ¹¹University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona ¹²The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

Purpose: The demands of cardiothoracic surgery often affect personal relationships, with those of spouses and partners under the greatest pressure and vulnerability to numerous challenges. Previous studies explored the impact on cardiothoracic surgeons’ partnerships, focusing primarily on men surgeons. We aimed to characterize the personal relationship experiences of women cardiothoracic surgeons.

Methods: We designed a survey gathering information on relationship dynamics of partners of women cardiothoracic surgeons. The survey was loaded into a web-based application, and links were disseminated to members of the Women in Thoracic Surgery, who subsequently distributed the survey to their own partners. Questions explored various avenues through which the women’s surgical careers had influenced their partners and relationships, both positively and negatively. Question items specifically gathered data pertaining to the nature and duration of the relationship, other members of the household, and aspects of family planning, as well as career impact on work-life integration, financial caveats, and attendance at personal and work-related events. Results were anonymized, analyzed in aggregate, and reported descriptively.

Results: The survey was completed by 32 individuals, whose relationships with the women cardiothoracic surgeons included 28 (87.5%) spouses and 4 (12.5%) nonmarital partners. Relationship durations were reported as follows: < 5 years, 12.5% (n=4); 5-10 years, 25% (n=8); 10-15 years, 21.9% (n=7); 15-20 years, 12.5% (n=4); >20 years, 28.1% (n=9). Regarding dynamics, 64.3% (17/27) of respondents reported that the cardiothoracic surgeon’s dedication to her job inspired the partner to be more understanding but 55.6% (15/27) experienced challenges in maintaining healthy work-life balance. Irregular and demanding work hours resulted in missed important events (44.4%, 12/27), reduced quality time together (55.6%, 15/27), and increased relationship tension (48.1%, 13/27, Figure). Encouragingly, 66.7% (18/27) reported that their partners’ jobs did not affect their decision to have children. When comparing experiences across relationship durations (less than 15 years versus greater than 15 years), there were no meaningful differences in the distribution of the responses, indicating relative stability of strain over time. Several favorable advantages arising from relationships with women cardiothoracic surgeons were described, with 41.4% (12/29) of partners indicating that traveling to conferences had broadened their horizons, 82.1% (23/28) reporting increased financial stability, and 85.2% (23/27) benefiting from augmented access to medical advice.

Conclusion: Our findings highlight challenges and benefits encountered by partners of women cardiothoracic surgeons across all stages of their careers and relationships. Elucidating the dynamics arising from a woman's career in thoracic surgery enables us to better provide insight and support for those interested in the field and within our community.

Identify the source of the funding for this research project: No funding