"I consider myself to be a leader": a qualitative exploration of early career women family physicians' intentions to assume a leadership role.

This study examines early career women family physicians’ perceptions of institutional leadership roles and their engagement in unrecognized leadership activities within US family medicine. Participants viewed formal leadership positions as bureaucratic, disciplinary, and unappealing, often detracting from patient care, while simultaneously performing significant unpaid leadership work that improves practice efficiency and workplace conditions. Although women experienced tensions between work and family responsibilities, these did not deter their long-term career goals, which frequently prioritized patient care or lower-level leadership roles. The findings suggest that expanding leadership definitions to include collaborative, values-driven activities and developing innovative compensation models could enhance gender equity in medical leadership.