Association for Surgical Education
Why are women deterred from general surgery training?

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Abstract

Background

This study explored the factors contributing to the low application rates to general surgery (GS) residency by female students and compared perceptions of GS between students and female surgeons.

Methods

We distributed surveys to final-year students at 4 medical schools and nationwide to every female general surgeon in Canada.

Results

Of students who were deterred from GS, women were less likely than men to meet a same-sex GS role model and more likely to experience gender-based discrimination during their GS rotation (P < .05). Female students had the perception that GS was incompatible with a rewarding family life, happy marriage, or having children, whereas female surgeons were far more positive about their career choice.

Conclusions

Both real and perceived barriers may deter women from a career in GS. Real barriers include sex-based discrimination and a lack of female role models in GS. There are also clear differences in perception between students and surgeons regarding family and lifestyle in GS that must be addressed.

Section snippets

Subjects

Appropriate institutional ethics approval for this study was obtained before its implementation. A self-administered questionnaire was e-mailed to all final-year medical students (N = 349) from a convenience sample of universities in Canada (University of Manitoba, Queen’s University, University of Ottawa, and University of British Columbia) in November 2002. Nonresponders were e-mailed another survey after 1 month, up to a maximum of 3 mailings.

Practicing female surgeons residing in Canada

Response

Of the 349 final-year medical students registered at the four institutions, 230 surveys were returned for an overall response rate of 66%. The response rates varied by individual institution (Manitoba 78%, Queen’s 74%, Ottawa 67%, British Columbia 51%). There were 127 returned surveys from women and 103 from men, with a slightly higher proportion of surveys returned from women.

Of the 244 female general surgeons residing in Canada, 187 surveys were returned (77% response rate). However, 5

Comments

Our results showed that female and male students had equal interest in GS but women were less likely to actually pursue it as a career, which is consistent with the results of other studies in this area [15]. We asked students only whether they had considered a career in GS at any point during their medical school career and not how seriously it was considered, which is a limitation of our study. Nonetheless, students who consider GS as a career path but ultimately choose another specialty

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    Supported by a research grant from the Physician’s Services Incorporated (PSI) Foundation, Ontario, Canada.

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