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[Careers of women in academic surgery]
1Abteilung für Allgemein-, Viszeral- und Unfallchirurgie der Universität Heidelberg. theresia.weber@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Aim:
The aim of our national survey was to determine personal, working, and career conditions of women in academic surgery in Germany.
Methods:
A questionnaire with 47 items was sent to 261 female surgeons working in 36 departments of general, abdominal, trauma, and vascular surgery. A total of 134 (51.3%) from all 36 surgical departments responded with completed surveys.
Results:
The mean age of the women was 35.1 years (range 27 to 54). Seventy-eight percent of the surgeons worked in departments for general or abdominal surgery, 17% in trauma, and 5% in vascular surgery. 45% of the women had finished residency and 19% were in faculty positions. Eighty percent of those asked were mostly or always content with their working conditions. However, 79% perceived career obstacles in academic surgery. The most frequently addressed obstructions were: predominant male structures (80%), the absence of mentoring programs (70%), too few operative cases per month (67%), and no equality of career opportunities compared to male surgeons (60%).
Conclusions:
To reduce career obstructions, which were reported by 79% of the female surgeons, and to encourage those 33% who wanted to leave academic surgery, it seems necessary to improve cooperation between female surgeons, department chairs, and governmental institutions.