Targeting medical students to promote women in surgery

The under-representation of women in surgical subspecialities is a well-aired topic. Most efforts to redress the surgical gender balance have, to date, been directed at opportunities for women in surgical training. We report on a one-day symposium organized by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh to promote interest in taking up a surgical career, aimed at senior women medical students and newly qualified doctors. Although 130 of the attendees who were surveyed did not change their opinion about the four most off-putting aspects of a surgical career, the symposium succeeded in increasing the appeal of a surgical career in 50%, apparently by the intensive exposure to a large and varied sample of female surgical role models.