Is There Gender Bias on the American Board of Surgery General Surgery Certifying Examination?

Abstract

Background: When oral examinations are administered, examiner subjectivity may possibly affect ratings, particularly when examiner severity is influenced by examinee characteristics (e.g., gender) that are independent of examinee ability. This study explored whether the ratings of the general surgery oral certifying examination (CE) of the American Board of Surgery and likelihood of passing the CE were influenced by the gender of examinees or examiners. Materials and methods: Data collected from examinees who attempted the general surgery CE in the 2016-2017 academic year were analyzed. There were 1341 examinees (61% male) and 216 examiners (82% male). Factorial analysis of variance and logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the effect of examinee and examiner gender on CE ratings and likelihood of passing the CE. Results: Examinees received similar ratings and had similar likelihood of passing the CE regardless of examinee or examiner genders and different combinations of examiner gender pairs (all P values > 0.05). Conclusions: These results indicate that CE ratings of examinees are not influenced by examinee or examiner gender. There was no evidence of examiner bias due to gender on the CE.

Early Barriers to Career Progression of Women in Surgery and Solutions to Improve Them

“…Among thoracic surgery residents, meaningful autonomy, defined as passive help or supervision only, was given to only 30% of female residents compared with 365 of male residents ( P =0.02) 65. Evaluation of residents’ autonomy showed an even more pronounced difference, with female residents receiving only 19% of a meaningful autonomy evaluation compared with 33% for male residents ( P <0.001) 68. Female residents’ tended to underestimate their abilities compared with faculty assessment has been the main topic in 3 papers,70,72,73 with male residents’ self-assessment scores demonstrating a stronger correlation with the attending score 72.…”

“…65 Evaluation of residents' autonomy showed an even more pronounced difference, with female residents receiving only 19% of a meaningful autonomy evaluation compared with 33% for male residents (P < 0.001). 68 Female residents' tended to underestimate their abilities compared with faculty assessment has been the main topic in 3 papers, 70,72,73 with male residents' self-assessment scores demonstrating a stronger correlation with the attending score. 72 On the contrary, in a study conducted in Norway 71 assessing residents during laparoscopic appendicectomy, no negative gender bias toward women trainees was demonstrated.…”

Surgical Education: Disparities in Education May Impact the Quality and Likelihood of Completion of Training

“…There does not appear to be a gender-based difference in qualifying or certifying exam failure rates. 48 49 However, an in-depth analysis of demographic factors demonstrated an association between having children and failing the certifying examination. Married women with children had a higher chance of failing than single women.…”

Commentary on “Hotel Room #1438”

“…We looked at our general surgery certifying examination for evidence of sex bias and found none. 1 Individual examiner scoring patterns also undergo analysis looking for sex bias and the (rare) outliers are counseled. The authors assert that the examination format is sex biased is not born out by research.…”

“…Before 2019, sex was the only demographic characteristic collected by the ABS. We looked at our general surgery certifying examination for evidence of sex bias and found none 1 . Individual examiner scoring patterns also undergo analysis looking for sex bias and the (rare) outliers are counseled.…”