Diversity in Surgery: Ethnic, Gender, and LGBTQ+ Representations Among United Kingdom Surgical Residents and...

Diversity within the surgical workforce is not just a matter of equity, but a determinant of quality in patient care. Studies consistently show that diverse healthcare teams achieve better outcomes, higher patient satisfaction, and improved team functioning. By asking users of the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP) to complete a survey on demographic characteristics we have been able to report diversity amongst surgical trainees and consultant trainers in the UK and Republic of Ireland for the first time.

A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of anonymized data from the Joint Committee on Surgical Training (JCST) and ISCP compared trainee and consultant trainer demographics against 2021 UK ONS Census benchmarks. Descriptive statistics, χ² tests and Fisher's exact tests (p < 0.05) were used.

Responses of 7906 trainees and 7621 consultant trainers were analyzed. There was underrepresentation of people with white ethnicity relative to the general population. Trainees had a higher Shannon Diversity Index than consultants overall (0.84 vs 0.72), with differences seen between specialties. Ethnic overrepresentation of Asian and Other/Chinese groups were consistent across all groups. Women were underrepresented in the majority of specialties, as were those identifying as LGBTQ+ amongst consultants relative to the general population. Trainee diversity more closely mirrored census data than consultant trainers.

Whilst diverse, surgeons have significantly different demographics compared to the general population. Women are underrepresented in the surgical workforce. Annual data reporting, targeted interventions, specialty-specific mentoring and inclusive recruitment, may support in bringing consultant demographics towards representation of the population they serve.