Demographic and practice patterns among minimally invasive surgery fellowship graduates

Previous reports show that over 85% of general surgery residents choose to pursue fellowship training after completing residency. There continues to be an increase interest among general surgery residents in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) fellowship. Moreover, demographic disparities, particularly gender disparities continue to persist among surgical sub-specialties. In this study, we evaluated the gender disparities and practice patterns among graduating MIS fellows.

MIS fellows were surveyed, and 169 results were received from fellows who completed training in the years: 2010, 2015-2019. Surveys collected were used to create a descriptive analysis of the demographics, practice patterns and job finding measures. Loglinear regression model was performed to assess gender trend variation over training years.

Fellows self-reported gender showed 65% male, 30% female, and 5% prefer not to say. The cohort of participants was described as 45.3% white, 5.3% African American, and 6.5% Hispanic or Latino. Further, results showed 87.1% of fellows work in MIS surgery with 91.8% reporting their fellowship experience facilitated their ability to find a job. Most alumni pursue a comprehensive MIS practice. Moreover, the proportion of female fellows increased from 29 to 41%, but this increase over time was not significant using loglinear regressions [p-value = 0.0810, Relative risk = 1.1994 (95% CI 0.9778, 1.4711)].

Overall, there is good evidence to support that fellowship training facilitates future career advancements. Further, MIS fellows have differential practice patterns. Finally, females remain underrepresented among the MIS fellows which should call for leadership action to bridge these gaps.