What Are Women Being Advised by Mentors When Applying to Surgery?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Gender Studies in Medicine

Background:

• Women are increasingly entering surgical fields but often gravitate towards specific subspecialties.
• Understanding the dynamics of career advisement is crucial for addressing gender disparities in surgery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how surgeons advise trainees regarding surgical career paths.
• To identify potential gender-based biases in this advisement process.

Main Methods:

• An 18-question survey was distributed to American College of Surgeons members via their newsletter, NewScope.
• Respondents (n=663) indicated perceived receptiveness of subspecialties to men and women and described their advisement strategies.
• Data were analyzed considering respondent demographics and surgical specialty.

Main Results:

• A majority of respondents (70.99%) were male. Most had male role models (61.10%) versus female role models (7.96%).
• Top subspecialties perceived as receptive to women included breast surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, plastic surgery, ophthalmology, and general surgery (GS).
• Surgeon's gender, age, and specialty influenced advisement, particularly in less female-dominated fields, indicating gender-based bias.

Conclusions:

• Gender-based bias in surgical career advisement appears to influence trainee specialty choices.
• Factors such as surgeon's gender, age, and specialty may predict how trainees are advised, potentially perpetuating existing gender distributions in surgical subspecialties.