Q COSTARICA — In Costa Rica, the presence of women in medicine continues to grow and consolidate in various areas of the healthcare system.
Currently, 6,582 professionals practice as general practitioners and surgeons, while 2,880 have a specialty, according to data from the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
These figures demonstrate an increasingly diverse female participation in the medical field, both in clinical care and in other areas related to the management and development of the healthcare sector.
In several specialties, the number of women already exceeds that of men.
Among them is Health Services Administration, where there are 733 women compared to 659 men, followed by Health Management, with 315 female professionals compared to 191 men.
A similar situation is observed in Occupational Medicine, where 171 women practice compared to 103 men, as well as in Adult Palliative Care, with 165 female physicians compared to 95 male specialists.
Other areas where women also have a greater presence include anesthesiology and recovery, family and community medicine, geriatrics and gerontology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, epidemiology, general psychiatry, and pediatric anesthesiology.
Women’s advancement is also observed in other areas of the health sector, where they actively participate in research, healthcare management, and the training of new generations of physicians.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons emphasizes that making this data visible allows for the recognition of the contributions of thousands of professionals who contribute daily to the functioning of the health system and the care of the population.
“The increase in women in Costa Rican medicine not only speaks to greater equity, but also to the real strengthening of the human talent that sustains the health system. Many of our colleagues also balance their professional practice with family, academic, and leadership responsibilities, which demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to society and to the quality of care that the population receives,” said Elliott Garita, president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons.