Dataset Information

Perception, Academic Performance, Gender Judgment and Barriers among Surgeons' Career Progression in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Gender discrimination continues to be an issue in different surgical subspecialties, especially in Saudi Arabia, where no studies have been conducted so far on female surgeons in academia, on gender discrimination, and on job satisfaction. Considering the increasing number of women enrolling for surgery programs in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this study aims to examine their perceptions about and equity in working as surgeons.

Methods

Following the STROCSS criteria, cross-sectional analyses were conducted of survey data from a multicentric online questionnaire in 2019/2020. A representative sample of medical interns and surgeons (n = 100) from Saudi Arabia responded out of 400 from the 4th iteration.

Results

Females were 53%; most participants were less than 40 years. Women ranked assistant professors were fewer than men (2% vs. 11%). The number of publications by females vs. males was 2.58 +/- 2.68 vs. 11.37 +/- 20.53 (p = 0.002). Surgery was not considered a profession conducive to family life according to more than half the women citing lack of flexible/part-time training or work (26/53, or 49%). However, only 1/5, or 9/47 (19.1%), of men thought there was gender attitude/bias; men also had more variety in surgical career choices. Further, most patients preferred male surgeons ( p = 0.026). Both females (30/53 or 56.6%) and males (25/47 or 53.2%) agreed that the best response to an offensive question was to ignore it. Decision in choosing their specialty was influenced mostly by career and promotion prospects, enthusiasm, and commitment (females: 31/53 or 58.5% and males: 17/47 or 36.2%) with p = 0.026.

Conclusions

The findings reveal the persisting discrepancies based on gender in the surgical field in Saudi Arabia. A nationwide movement limiting working hours, encouraging medical students to enter surgery, and upholding women in leadership positions can help in overcoming this situation.

SUBMITTER: Moshref R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7770502 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Perception, Academic Performance, Gender Judgment and Barriers among Surgeons' Career Progression in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Moshref Rana R Moshref Leena L Rizk Hisham H Fayez Raad R Alotaibi Abdulrahman A

Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) 20201219

<h4>Introduction</h4>Gender discrimination continues to be an issue in different surgical subspecialties, especially in Saudi Arabia, where no studies have been conducted so far on female surgeons in academia, on gender discrimination, and on job satisfaction. Considering the increasing number of women enrolling for surgery programs in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this study aims to examine their perceptions about and equity in working as surgeons.<h4>Methods</h4>Following the STROCSS criteria, cross-s ...[more]

PMID: 33384874

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Project description:Background While female participation has improved in several surgical specialties over time globally, no such increase has been observed in orthopaedic surgery over the past decades. The potential barriers to female participation are likely present from the beginning of medical education. Therefore, this study assessed the apparent lag in equal representation among men and women in orthopaedic surgery in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods This cross-sectional study used a questionnaire survey to investigate medical students’ and interns’ perceptions of women participating in orthopaedic surgery, their subspeciality preferences, and barriers preventing them from pursuing an orthopaedic career. The responses were analysed to understand general perceptions, gender-based differences, impact of clinical experiential learning, and exposure to orthopaedic surgery. Results Approximately 565 medical students (49% females, 51% males) participated in the survey. Only 17% of students (11% females, 23% males) considered orthopaedic surgery as their future career option. While 31% of female and 17% of male students disagreed with the concept of female-appropriate orthopaedic subspecialties, most of the remaining male and female students perceived paediatric orthopaedics as a female-appropriate subspecialty. Concerning equal representation of women, gender bias and lack of a strong physique were the most frequently selected barriers by female and male students, respectively. Patient preference for male orthopaedicians, gender discrimination, social and family commitments, and need for physical strength were all perceived as barriers for women in orthopaedics. Overall, clinical experience and orthopaedic exposure did not significantly improve the likelihood of female students in choosing orthopaedic surgery as a career. Conclusions The bias against women in orthopaedic careers is prevalent among medical students early in their academic years. Clinical experience and exposure to orthopaedic surgery should be improved to make a significant impact on female participation in orthopaedic careers. Career building efforts in terms of improved career opportunities, career counselling, flexible working hours, social and family related adjustments and implementation of mentorship/research/fellowship programmes for females are needed to reduce gender discrimination and improve female orthopaedic participation. Furthermore, process improvements may yield greater flexibility for women pursuing the challenging field while accommodating other barriers faced by women in orthopaedic surgery. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13018-022-03487-6.

Dataset Information

Perception, Academic Performance, Gender Judgment and Barriers among Surgeons' Career Progression in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Perception, Academic Performance, Gender Judgment and Barriers among Surgeons' Career Progression in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Similar Datasets

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