How Does Orthopaedic Surgeon Gender Representation Vary by Career Stage, Regional Distribution, and Practice Size? A Large-Database Medicare Study

Abstract

Background Orthopaedic surgery has the lowest proportion of women surgeons in practice of any specialty in the United States. Preliminary studies suggest that patients who are treated by physicians of the same race, ethnicity, cultural background, or gender feel more comfortable with their care and may have better outcomes. Therefore, understanding the discrepancies in the diversity of the orthopaedic surgeon workforce is crucial to addressing system-wide healthcare inequities. Questions/purposes (1) Does a difference exist in gender representation among practicing orthopaedic surgeons across geographic distributions and years in practice? (2) Does a difference exist in gender representation among

Investigation of Fellowship Leadership in Orthopaedic Musculoskeletal Oncology

“…35 Over the past two decades, the percentage of female orthopaedic residents has risen moderately from 11.0% in 2005 to 14% in 2017 (127.3% increase). 29,35,36 Interestingly, the field of musculoskeletal oncology is more representative of female surgeons (21.1%) than the orthopaedic workforce as a whole (5.0%). 35 However, the field of orthopaedics still lags behind other fields in the rate of increased female and minority representation.…”

“…29,35,36 Interestingly, the field of musculoskeletal oncology is more representative of female surgeons (21.1%) than the orthopaedic workforce as a whole (5.0%). 35 However, the field of orthopaedics still lags behind other fields in the rate of increased female and minority representation. 29,37 Conversely, the field of orthopaedic surgery has actually seen a decline in minority representation within residency training programs since 2006.…”

“…Sex and Racial Breakdown of the US Medical Student, Orthopaedic Resident, Orthopaedic Physician, and Musculoskeletal Oncology FD Cohorts as of 201934,35 …”

CORR Insights®: How Does Orthopaedic Surgeon Gender Representation Vary by Career Stage, Regional Distribution, and Practice Size? A Large-database Medicare Study

“…An article in this month’s Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research ® [7] found that only one in 20 orthopaedic surgeons billing for patient care under Medicare is a woman. This ratio is likely similar for orthoapedic surgeons who provide care to patients who do not have Medicare insurance.…”

“…Where Do We Need To Go? Rodgers et al [7] found that despite our civilized and seemingly integrated society, there is still an overwhelming disparity in gender inclusion in orthopaedic surgery. What will it take to eliminate the barriers that hinder women from freely entering the profession?…”