Initially, David Newman’s right-knee discomfort was only sporadic. When it progressed to all day, every day, a referral landed him in the hands of Dr. Tricia Beatty, cofounder of Beatty Harris Sports Medicine in Newtown Square. After cortisone shots and gel injections failed, Beatty was able to avert knee replacement surgery with injections of platelet-rich plasma.
“She always offered options,” says Newman, who lives in Bryn Mawr. “Male doctors are more command and control, but Dr. Beatty said, ‘Try this or try that.’ When I asked about the pros and cons, she was always patient with me.”
Though gender didn’t play a role in the specialist he sought, Newman has been seeing a lot more female doctors lately. “My GP is a male, but all of those I’ve been referred to are female. My dermatologist is female. I also go to a woman-owned center for myofascial release therapy.”
In a post-pandemic world, as patients and practitioners alike struggle with the changes and challenges in a healthcare landscape that’s largely operating in assembly-line mode, patients are increasingly turning to female healthcare providers for the sort of empathetic, personalized approach that used to be more common. “They’re more open to dialogue,” says Newman. “When a woman doctor asks a question, my perception is that it comes from a real sense of concern. When I share my backstory, I feel they listen a whole lot more.”
According to a 2020 study in the New England Journal of Medicine, female physicians spend more time with patients than their male colleagues. They also may offer better care because they’re more likely to follow guidelines, collaborate with specialists and more thoroughly inquire about all the circumstances that may affect a patient’s health. Simply by fostering more meaningful relationships, female physicians encourage and support patients in their efforts to take ownership of their care.
Beatty is a former U.S. Navy flight surgeon and an NCAA Division 1 diver. Her business partner, Allen Harris, is a former NCAA Division I gymnast, national champion and team captain at Penn State University. “The biggest difference is the time we’re able to spend with each patient,” Beatty says. “People want to feel they’re being heard and want to play an active role in developing their treatment plans. Involvement is empowering, and it makes it more likely they’ll follow through on a plan, leading to more successful outcomes.”
A Broomall native and Narberth resident, Beatty has a particular interest in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal injuries and conditions unique to women. With over 12 years of experience in the use of ultrasound for guided joint injections and tendon procedures, her nonsurgical, clinical methods are proven—and so is her approach to patients. “Because of the time spent, we get to know our patients and they get to know us,” says Beatty, who’s been team physician for the Philadelphia Union, the University of Delaware, Saint Joseph’s University, Agnes Irwin School, and Radnor and Ridley high schools. “It builds a comfort level and trust between physician and patient that’s rare in sub-specialties.”
“My patients tell me women listen more to them and spend more time assessing first. It’s hard to say objectively, but it’s what I hear.”
– Dr. Corinna Bowser
Female participation in the medical field experienced an uptick in the 1970s, helped along by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits gender discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities. By the early ’80s, women made up 28% of the nation’s medical students, but they remained underrepresented in leadership positions. Between 1975 and 1992, only two of 127 medical school deans were women. Today, it’s up to 18%. As of the 2023-2024 school year, women comprised 55% of the country’s medical school enrollment.
In 2022, Forbes noted that 36% of female physicians owned practices. For men, it was almost half. That same year, women MDs earned almost $110,000 less annually than their male counterparts, a pay difference that could exceed $2 million over a career.
“People go into medicine for the reputation and to make money—the wrong reasons,” says Dr. Corinna Bowser, an allergist-immunologist who sees patients at practice locations in Havertown and Narberth. “You no longer get rich in medicine.”
In 2022, Forbes noted that 36% of female physicians owned practices. For men, it was almost half. That same year, women M.D.s earned almost $110,000 less annually than their male counterparts, a pay difference that could exceed $2 million over a career.
Earning her medical degree in 1998 from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, Bowser emigrated to the United States. She worked in New York before finding her way to private practices in Havertown and Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She opened her own office in 2013.
“My patients tell me women listen more to them and spend more time assessing first,” says Bowser. “It’s hard to say objectively, but it’s what I hear.”
Bowser also communicates differently with other female practitioners. “Between women, the question is, ‘How can we work together,’ versus ‘Who is the smarter one here?’” she notes. “It may just be generational, or based on how men behave and how they’re taught to be—strong and dismissive.”
And patients appreciate the questions she asks. “I don’t need to practice homeopathy or holistic medicine. I just need to ask the right things—and that takes more than 20 minutes.”
Isabel, the eldest of Bowser’s two daughters, is a pre-med student at the University of Pittsburgh. She should have plenty of opportunities to make her mark. The World Health Organization is projecting a need for 40 million new health and social sector jobs by 2030 around the globe. Right now, there’s an estimated shortfall of 18 million workers, primarily in low- and middle-income communities.
Isabel studied medical Spanish in Costa Rica to better prepare her for communicating with patients. “She has me in the background,” her mom says. “I tell her, ‘You do it, girl. I did it.’”
Related: These Are the Main Line Region’s Top Doctors in 2024
