Dataset Information

Gender Differences in Program Factors Important to Applicants When Evaluating Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs.

ABSTRACT: Background:Despite specialty-driven efforts to improve diversity in the field, few women apply to orthopaedic residency, and women are unevenly distributed among programs. There is little evidence-based information on factors that may attract female applicants. Objective:This study aims to identify factors important to applicants when evaluating orthopaedic residency programs and to identify gender-specific differences. Methods:All applicants to a single orthopaedic surgery residency program in the 2017 Match were asked to fill out an anonymous survey. Respondents rated the importance of 35 factors when evaluating orthopaedic residency programs. The percentage of highly rated factors was calculated. Statistical analysis was performed for each factor to assess differences by gender. Results:Of 1013 applicants who applied to orthopaedic surgery residency in 2017, 815 (80%) applied to our program, and 218 (27%) completed the survey. The most important factors when evaluating a residency program for both genders were (1) perceptions of current residents; (2) interactions with members of the program; (3) program reputation and fellowship placement; (4) geographic location; and (5) impressions after rotation at a program. Female applicants rated the presence of female and minority residents and faculty and program reputation for gender and racial/ethnic diversity higher than male applicants. Conclusions:When choosing an orthopaedic surgery residency program, women more often reported the presence of female residents and faculty, program reputation for gender diversity, reputation for racial/ethnic diversity, presence of minority residents and faculty, and their personal interactions with members of the program as important factors.

SUBMITTER: Kroin E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6795318 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Gender Differences in Program Factors Important to Applicants When Evaluating Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs.

Kroin Ellen E Garbarski Dana D Shimomura Aoi A Romano Joseph J Schiff Adam A Wu Karen K

Journal of graduate medical education 20191001 5

<h4>Background</h4>Despite specialty-driven efforts to improve diversity in the field, few women apply to orthopaedic residency, and women are unevenly distributed among programs. There is little evidence-based information on factors that may attract female applicants.<h4>Objective</h4>This study aims to identify factors important to applicants when evaluating orthopaedic residency programs and to identify gender-specific differences.<h4>Methods</h4>All applicants to a single orthopaedic surgery ...[more]

PMID: 31636827

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Project description:BackgroundLetters of recommendation are considered one of the most important factors for whether an applicant is selected for an interview for orthopaedic surgery residency programs. Language differences in letters describing men versus women candidates may create differential perceptions by gender. Given the gender imbalance in orthopaedic surgery, we sought to determine whether there are differences in the language of letters of recommendation by applicant gender.Questions/purposes(1) Are there differences in word count and word categories in letters of recommendation describing women and men applicants, regardless of author gender? (2) Is author gender associated with word category differences in letters of recommendation? (3) Do authors of different academic rank use different words to describe women versus men applicants?MethodsUsing a linguistic analysis in a retrospective study, we analyzed all letters of recommendation (2834 letters) written for all 738 applicants with completed Electronic Residency Application Service applications submitted to the Johns Hopkins Orthopaedic Surgery Residency program during the 2018 to 2019 cycle to determine differences in word category use among applicants by gender, authors by gender, and authors by academic rank. Thirty nine validated word categories from the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count dictionary along with seven additional word categories from previous publications were used in this analysis. The occurrence of words in each word category was divided by the number of words in the letter to obtain a word frequency for each letter. We calculated the mean word category frequency across all letters and analyzed means using non-parametric tests. For comparison of two groups, a p value threshold of 0.05 was used. For comparison of multiple groups, the Bonferroni correction was used to calculate an adjusted p value (p = 0.00058).ResultsLetters of recommendation for women applicants were slightly longer compared with those for men applicants (366 ± 188 versus 339 ± 199 words; p = 0.003). When comparing word category differences by applicant gender, letters for women applicants had slightly more "achieve" words (0.036 ± 0.015 versus 0.035 ± 0.018; p < 0.0001). Letters for men had more use of their first name (0.016 ± 0.013 versus 0.014 ± 0.009; p < 0.0001), and more "young" words (0.001 ± 0.003 versus 0.000 ± 0.001; p < 0.0001) than letters for women applicants. These differences were very small as each 0.001 difference in mean word frequency was equivalent to one more additional word from the word category appearing when comparing three letters for women to three letters for men. For differences in letters by author gender, there were no word category differences between men and women authors. Finally, when looking at author academic rank, letters for men applicants written by professors had slightly more "research" terms (0.011 ± 0.010) than letters written by associate professors (0.010 ± 0.010) or faculty of other rank (0.009 ± 0.011; p < 0.0001), a finding not observed in letters written for women.ConclusionsAlthough there were some minor differences favoring women, language in letters of recommendation to an academic orthopaedic surgery residency program were overall similar between men and women applicants.Clinical relevanceGiven the similarity in language between men and women applicants, increasing women applicants may be a more important factor in addressing the gender gap in orthopaedics.

Project description:ObjectiveWe surveyed Orthopaedic Surgery Residency (OSR) programs to determine international opportunities by the academic institutional region within the United States, location of the international experience, duration, residency program year (PGY), funding source, and resident participation to date.DesignWe emailed a survey to all OSR programs in the United States to inquire about global opportunities in their residency programs. Further contact was made through an additional e-mail and up to three telephone calls. Data were analyzed using descriptive and chi-square statistics. This study was institutional review board exempt.SettingThis research study was conducted at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, a tertiary care facility in conjunction with the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine.ParticipantsThe participants of this research study included program directors and coordinators of all OSR programs (185) across the United States.ResultsA total of 102 OSR programs completed the survey (55% response rate). Notably, 50% of the responding programs offered a global health opportunity to their residents. Of the institutions that responded, those in the Midwest or South were more likely to offer the opportunity than institutions found in other US regions, although regional differences were not significant. Global experiences were most commonly: in Central or South America (41%); 1 to 2 weeks in duration (54%); and during PGY4 or PGY5 (71%). Furthermore, half of the programs provided full funding for the residents to participate in the global experience. In 33% of the programs, 10 or more residents had participated to date.ConclusionsInterest in global health among medical students is increasing. OSR programs have followed this trend, increasing their global health opportunities by 92% since 2015. Communicating the availability of and support for international opportunities to future residents may help interested students make informed decisions when applying to residency programs.

Project description:Women are disproportionately underrecognized as award winners within medical societies. The presence of this disparity has not been investigated in training programs. To determine the presence of a gender disparity in award winners in general surgery residency programs. In this retrospective survey study, 32 geographically diverse academic and independent general surgery residency programs were solicited for participation. The 24 participating programs (75.0%) submitted deidentified data regarding the gender distribution of residents and trainee award recipients for the period from July 1, 1996, to June 30, 2017. Data were analyzed from September 11, 2017, to December 21, 2018. Time and the proportion of female trainees. The primary outcome was the percentage of female award winners. A multilevel logistic regression model accounting for the percentage of female residents in each program compared the odds of a female resident winning an award relative to a male resident. This analysis was repeated for the first and second decades of the study. Award winners were further analyzed by type of award (clinical excellence, nonclinical excellence, teaching, or research) and selection group (medical students, residents, or faculty members). A total of 5030 of 13 760 resident person-years (36.6%) and 455 of 1447 award winners (31.4%) were female. Overall, female residents were significantly less likely to receive an award compared with male residents (odds ratio [OR], 0.44; 95% CI, 0.37-0.54; P < .001). During the first decade of the study, female residents were 70.8% less likely to receive an award compared with male residents (OR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.19-0.45; P < .001); this improved to 49.9% less likely in the second decade (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.42-0.61; P < .001). Female residents were less likely to receive an award for teaching (OR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.26-0.42; P < .001), clinical excellence (OR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.31-0.61; P < .001), or nonclinical excellence (OR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.48-0.98; P = .04). No statistical difference was observed for research award winners (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.42-1.12; P = .17). The largest discrepancies were observed when award recipients were chosen by residents (OR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.14-0.39; P < .001) and students (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.25-0.42; P < .001) compared with faculty members (OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.42-0.66; P < .001). This study found that female residents were significantly underrepresented as award recipients. These findings suggest the presence of ongoing implicit bias in surgery departments and training programs.

Dataset Information

Gender Differences in Program Factors Important to Applicants When Evaluating Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs.

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Gender Differences in Program Factors Important to Applicants When Evaluating Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs.

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