Physician resigns from leadership roles after disparaging remarks

A physician who recently gained attention for his offensive comments about the pay gap between male and female physicians has since stepped down from his leadership positions at Texas Health Plano. Texas Health confirmed that Gary Tigges, MD, an internal medicine physician at Plano Internal Medicine Associates, resigned from his position as member of the executive committee Texas Health Plano’s medical board of and as chair of the credentialing committee earlier this month.

In a written interview published in the September edition of the Dallas Medical Journal, Tigges was asked to comment on the existence of and reasoning for the large pay gap between male and female physicians. According to the journal, Tigges responded, “Female physicians do not work as hard and do not see as many patients as male physicians. This is because they choose to, or they simply don't want to be rushed, or they don't want to work the long hours. Most of the time, their priority is something else.”

Tigges has since publicly apologized for his words and adds that it was taken out of context and that he was unaware his comments would be published. He claims that his statement was based on research that showed that women often earn less because they do not treat as many patients or work as many hours as their male counterparts.

Texas Health has released a public statement indicating that Tigges’ words are not in anyway reflective of the institution’s beliefs or values. The executive committee has accepted Tigges’ resignation and has made it clear that they “vehemently disagree” with his statements.

Source: Beckers Hospital Review