For New Jersey residents thinking about going to medical school, the idea that doctors often end up divorced due to their workload may have crossed their minds. However, the results of a study published on Feb. 19 showed that this may not be the case; in fact, the results suggest that doctors are actually less likely to divorce than other professionals in the health care industry.
This study investigated the divorce rates among a number of different professions, including physicians, health care executives, nurses and dentists. In total, the researchers reportedly collected surveys from more than 240,000 medical professionals between 2008 and 2013. Additionally, surveys were also collected from professionals in other industries for comparison of divorce rates.
Ultimately, the results showed that 24 percent of doctors surveyed divorced. In comparison, 23 percent of pharmacists, 31 percent of health care executives and 33 percent of nurses have been through divorces. However, all of these percentages were lower than the percentages of those who worked in other fields. The results indicated that of those not working in the medical industry, 35 percent have been divorced.
One statistic also found that among doctors, female doctors were 1.5 times more likely to be divorced than their male counterparts. While the head researcher suggested that this might be due to having to balance their home life and work situations, such suspicion would need further research for confirmation.
Even though the divorce rates among health care professionals is not as high as once thought, it is still possible for a doctor to go through a divorce. A family law attorney can assist them with protecting the financial assets or practice that they worked so hard for or negotiate child custody agreements.
