Women are better doctors but get paid less

[Professions ★★]

(P1) A study says female doctors are better than male doctors but get less pay. Researchers looked at three million medical records. The number of people who stayed in a hospital a second time or who died was lower if the doctor was female. Death rates were 15.02% for patients of female doctors and 15.57% for male doctors.

(P2) Researchers did not say why women gave better care. They said it was important to know why. One researcher said, “32,000 fewer patients would die” in the USA each year if male doctors worked like female doctors. He said it was wrong that male doctors got paid more than female doctors. He said women were better at their jobs.

WORDS: 115

SOURCE: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1612/161223-doctors-0.html

VOCABULARY: records, lower, patients, fewer, better

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.

1. Briefly, summarize the content of the article in your own words.
2. Do you agree or disagree with the research results? Why?
3. Are there more male or female doctors in your country?
4. Do women doctors get paid less in your country? If yes, do you think they should be paid the same as male doctors?

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:

EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:

1. The research says that women are ____________ doctors than men but receive less _________.
2. The study used _______________ medical files.
3. The patient death rate was the same between male and female doctors. (T or F)
4. The people who did the research indicated a reason why female doctors provided better care. (T or F)
5. According to one researcher, ___________ fewer people would die if male doctors worked similar to female doctors.

What do the following expressions or phrases mean?

• get less pay (P1)
• death rates (P1)
• gave better care (P2)
• male doctors worked like female doctors (P2)

Image source: by “unknown” http://www.fotosearch.com/UNM110/u13027165/