A descriptive analysis of general surgery residency program directors in the United States.
Am J Surg 2022;
224:1247-1251. [PMID:
35780075 DOI:
10.1016/j.amjsurg.2022.06.020]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Women remain underrepresented in surgery. We analyzed the demographics of general surgery program directors (PDs) and compared gender differences.
METHODS
A search of online resources was conducted, including 344 general surgery residencies.
RESULTS
340 residencies were included. 261 PDs (76.8%) were male and 79 (23.2%) were female. Females were appointed at a younger age (p < 0.0001), were appointed sooner after residency (p < 0.0001) and have served similar term lengths compared to males (p = 0.556). There was no difference in academic position, fellowship training, or scholarly output between genders. Residencies with a female PD had a greater percentage of female residents (p = 0.04).
CONCLUSION
General surgery PDs are predominately male with fellowship training; however the percentage of female PDs is similar to the percentage of practicing female general surgeons in the US. Gaining a better understanding of the characteristics of general surgery PDs can aid female surgeons in attaining academic leadership positions.
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