Building High Performance Teams in Pediatric Orthopaedics: Is Diversity the Problem or the Antidote?

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic surgery
• Medical education
• Health equity

Background:

• Orthopaedic surgery exhibits the lowest racial and ethnic diversity among surgical specialties.
• While pediatric orthopaedics shows improved gender diversity, racial/ethnic representation and leadership demographics lag.
• Underrepresented professionals in medicine face workplace discrimination, harassment, and bullying.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline strategies for enhancing diversity and inclusion within orthopaedic surgery, particularly in pediatric orthopaedics.
• To highlight the benefits of diverse teams in improving institutional performance and patient care.
• To emphasize the need for data-driven initiatives to address pipeline and retention issues.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on diversity in surgical specialties.
• Analysis of demographic data within orthopaedics and pediatric orthopaedics.
• Synthesis of research on the impact of team diversity on performance and patient outcomes.

Main Results:

• Diverse teams improve decision-making, employee retention, and institutional performance.
• Strategies include diversifying residency pipelines, reducing attrition, and creating supportive work environments.
• Data-driven diversity initiatives are crucial for evidence-based advancement.

Conclusions:

• Enhancing diversity in pediatric orthopaedics is essential for improving patient care and institutional excellence.
• Addressing pipeline and retention challenges, alongside combating discrimination, are key priorities.
• Integrating identity and cognitive diversity, supported by robust data, will advance the profession.