At my medical school, they allowed me to extend 3rd and 4th year rotations. I did a one rotation "on"/one rotation "off" schedule, so that I finished 3rd/4th years in 3 years instead of 2. This worked great for our family:) (I was pregnant with my third child and the other 2 were still very young.)

The stigma does follow those who go PT for academic reasons, without question.

While not my case, I often feel as though I need to do *extremely* well solely to keep that stigma away and prove that being a mother and med student are not exclusive. I fear proving the nay-sayers right, or even giving them a glimmer of hope. For all those premed moms out there.

Does this type of stigma follow those who have done PT residency?

I don't know about residency, because I was a full-time resident. As a half-time practicing Pediatrician however I do feel some stigma. I have never worked full-time so I do not know how that is different. However, I have been passed up for partnership due to my part-time status. I have worked very hard to prove that I am just as competent as my full-time colleagues but I do sense a lack of status. It is hard to describe and it is subtle and unspoken but I think definitely there. I am not in academic medicine, not sure if it is worse or better in that type of setting.

I am glad to see reduced-schedule options for medical training now. It is long past time for the field of medicine to change in this way. I have worked hard to prove that I can be both and excellent clinician and a good mother (at the same time, even!). I was the first to ever work less than full-time in my practice, now several younger physicians have chosen this route as well.

It is always hard when you are forging a new path, as it were, but keep on forging!

The thing about "stigma's" is that there are more than enough to go around. The "DO stigma", the "med student mom" stigma, the "affirmative action stigma", and on and on.

Seems to me the ONLY folks who don't have a stigma associated with ANYTHING they do are white males unless they happen to be gay.

yup path that is about it. Unless the white males happen to be obese. I have heard it said, discrimination against overweight people is the last acceptable form of discrimination...maybe even more acceptable than discrimination against gays.

you are right though, we all feel we have to prove ourselves in some way or another.

after all we are all just people anyway.

I didn't feel any stigma as a PT resident. Actually I got a lot of support and admiration from my fellow residents for making my kid a priority.

But I'm in a really cushy and family-friendly program, and by the time I went PT we were doing all outpatient work so my reduced hours didn't directly affect any other resident's schedule.