Gender Difference in Teaching Evaluation Scores of Pediatric Faculty

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Gender Studies in Medicine
• Pediatric Academic Medicine

Background:

• Resident assessments are crucial for faculty development in academic medicine.
• Understanding potential biases in these evaluations is essential for fair faculty progression.
• Previous research has not fully explored gender-based differences in milestone assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between faculty gender and resident-assigned teaching assessment scores.
• To identify if gender influences evaluations in specific domains like clinical interactions, teaching skills, and role modeling.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective cohort study analyzed 2889 milestone-based teaching assessments of pediatric faculty by residents.
• Multilevel logistic regression was used to compare scores between male and female faculty, adjusting for covariates.
• Assessments covered 3 domains and 11 sub-competencies over three academic years.

Main Results:

• No significant gender differences were found in top quartile scores for clinical interactions, teaching, or role modeling.
• Female faculty were more likely to receive bottom quartile scores in teaching and role modeling.
• Women faculty had lower odds of receiving the highest scores in 6 of 11 sub-competencies.

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest potential gender bias in resident assessments of pediatric faculty.
• Further research is needed to validate these results in diverse settings.
• Identifying and mitigating gender gaps in academic medicine is a critical next step.