So you married a doctor? Preparing trainees for medical marriages

Most medical marriages occur before graduation from medical school; however, many medical students are unaware of the unique challenges associated with careers in medicine (e.g., financial insecurity, fatigue, stress, academic trouble, etc.) as they prepare to merge their careers with marriage or other long term relationships. 1 Physician relationships in both the United States and Canada typically mirror national relationship trends in the larger population with a few exceptions. 2-4 For example, physicians entering marriage tend to be older and divorce rates may be gender specific; the divorce rate for female physicians is higher than male physicians, the marriage rate is higher for female physicians than non-physician females, and approximately half of female physicians marry other physicians. 5