Orthopaedic Authorship: Sex-Based Resident Publication Trends

Orthopaedic surgery is a historically male-dominated specialty. The purpose of this study was to analyze sex-specific, educational, geographic, and publication trends of orthopaedic surgery residents to quantify female representation in training and academia.

Demographic information was collected from accredited orthopaedic surgery residency websites. Schools and programs were ranked by the Doximity Residency Navigator and US News & World Report evaluations. Publications metrics were searched in PubMed and Scopus.

Three thousand three hundred forty-five orthopaedic surgery residents were identified on residency websites, and 2,736 (81.8%) male and 609 (18.2%) female residents. Female residents more often attended top 20 residency programs (28.6% vs. 19.2%, P = 0.00000026), top 50 research medical schools (45.7% vs. 34.8%, P = 0.0000036), and residencies affiliated with top 20 research schools (19.0% vs. 14.1%, P = 0.0026). Female residents authored 1,740 publications (16.4%), whereas male residents authored 8,801 (82.9%). No difference was observed in H-indices, median interquartile range by training year, authorship position, publications in top journals, or research output.

Although female orthopaedic surgery residents were more likely to be affiliated with higher-ranking educational institutions, this had no clear influence on research productivity, as suggested by comparable median interquartile ranges and H-indices. Future studies should explore whether research productivity has evolved over time and, if so, how.