Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs

Okike, Kanu; Utuk, Mekeme E; White, Augustus A.

doi:10.2106/jbjs.k.00108

Cited by 117 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The prolonged hours of surgical training appear less daunting when they are limited by work-hour regulations, and this might account for the increased pursuit of surgical residencies by women [1]. The fact that women choose orthopaedics for occupation-related and intellectual reasons correlates well with the finding in a study of 90 residents that women and men in residency performed similarly by objective and subjective measures [15]. Women reported higher satisfaction with career choice than their male colleagues [18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…Previous studies have suggested that a bias against surgical specialties overall may play a role in women's interest in orthopaedics [4]. Additionally, orthopaedic surgical programs with a stated commitment to diversity have shown higher percentages of women and underrepresented minorities [15,21]. Finally, lack of mentorship and women faculty in training programs have been cited as potential causes of smaller numbers of women medical students pursuing this specialty [22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Where Are the Women in Orthopaedic Surgery?

Rohde

Wolf

Adams

2016

Clinical Orthopaedics &Amp; Related Research

256

200

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Background Although women account for approximately half of the medical students in the United States, they represent only 13% of orthopaedic surgery residents and 4% of members of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Furthermore, a smaller relative percentage of women pursue careers in orthopaedic surgery than in any other subspecialty. Formal investigations regarding the gender discrepancy in choice of orthopaedic surgery are lacking. Questions/purposes (1) What reasons do women orthopaedic surgeons cite for why they chose this specialty? (2) What perceptions do women orthopaedic surgeons think might deter other women from pursuing this field? (3) What role does early exposure to orthopaedics and mentorship play in this choice? (4) What professional and personal choices do women in orthopaedics make, and how might this inform students who are choosing a career path? Methods A 21-question survey was emailed to all active, candidate, and resident members of the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society (RJOS, n = 556). RJOS is the oldest surgical women's organization incorporated in the United States. An independent orthopaedic specialty society, RJOS supports leadership training, mentorship, grant opportunities, and advocacy for its members and promotes sex-related musculoskeletal research. Although not all women in orthopaedic practice or training belong to RJOS, it is estimated that 42% of women AAOS fellows are RJOS members. Questions were formulated to determine demographics, practice patterns, and lifestyle choices of women who chose orthopaedic surgery as a specialty. Specifically, we evaluated the respondents' decisions about their careers and their opinions of why more women do not choose this field. For the purpose of this analysis, the influences and dissuaders were divided into three major categories: personal attributes, experience/exposure, and work/life considerations. Results The most common reasons cited for having chosen orthopaedic surgery were enjoyment of manual tasks (165 of

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where Are the Women in Orthopaedic Surgery?

Rohde

Wolf

Adams

2016

Clinical Orthopaedics &Amp; Related Research

256

200

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…On average, during the period of study, African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native applicants applied to fewer programs each year than the national average (45.3, 46.9, and 49.5, respectively, versus 50.4). Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander applicants averaged more applications per year than e96 (4) the national average over the period of study (57.5 versus 50.4); however, there were no more than 4 applicants in this category per year, so the average number of applications may be skewed by a single outlier.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

The Distribution of Underrepresented Minorities in U.S. Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs

Adelani

Harrington

Montgomery

2019

The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery

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Background: Orthopaedic surgery has generally lagged behind other surgical subspecialties with respect to racial and ethnic diversity in its U.S. residency programs. Efforts have been made to increase the number of underrepresented minorities (URMs) applying to orthopaedic surgery residencies; however, the impact on diversity at the residency program level is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine whether orthopaedic surgery residency programs have become more racially diverse over time. Methods: The Graduate Medical Education Track database was queried for individual racial/ethnic identification of orthopaedic surgery residents in U.S. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited programs for 15 consecutive years (2002-2003 through 2016-2017). The number of URMs in each residency program during each academic year was recorded. The number of programs per year with no URMs, 1 URM, 2 URMs, and >2 URMs was recorded, and the change over time was assessed. Results: The number of programs per year with >1 URM resident decreased over time, from 61 programs in 2002 to 53 programs in 2016, with the trough being 31 programs in 2010 (p < 0.0001). The number of programs per year without any URM residents increased over the period of study, from 40 programs in 2002 to 60 programs in 2016, with the peak being 76 programs in 2011 (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The number of residency programs with >1 URM resident has decreased significantly over time, suggesting that diversity at the program level is limited. Program-level diversity should be further examined as a potential barrier to the recruitment of URMs to orthopaedics. Difficulty attracting URM residents to certain programs may have the unintended consequence of effectively limiting potential positions for these candidates, which can decrease the odds of minority students matching into orthopaedics and, therefore, perpetuate the cycle of lack of diversity in our field. Orthopaedic surgery in the United States lags behind other specialties with respect to racial and ethnic diversity among both residents and academic faculty 1-3. Minorities have been underrepresented in orthopaedics relative to the number of medical students who are underrepresented minorities (URMs) 1,4. In 2006, African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos represented 13.8% of medical school graduates but only 7.8% of orthopaedic surgery residents and 4.9% of orthopaedic surgery faculty 1. Previously, it has been demonstrated that the proportion of minority residents in orthopaedics did not significantly increase over time, with African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans constituting 8.8% of orthopaedic residents in 1995 and 9.1% of residents in 2010 2. Disclosure: The authors indicated that no external funding was received for any aspect of this work. On the Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest forms, which are provided with the online version of the article, one or more of the authors checked "yes" to indicate that the author had a relevant financial relat...

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“…For the entire group, regardless of age, mentorship was surprisingly less influential in choice of specialty for AAaAD otolaryngologists. Although other specialities demonstrate that increased numbers of minorities and mentorship have impact on recruitment to the specialty, [9][10][11] similarly notable for women, [12][13][14][15][16] it is plausible that otolaryngology has proportionally fewer mentors in position of influence and impact for AAaAD medical students than other specialities such as general surgery, urology, orthopedics, and obstetrics and gynecology. With only two respondents mentored by an AAaAD otolaryngologist, our study shows a gap in the trends observed in general surgery, where Powers et al found that AAaAD surgical residents are more likely to pursue a career in academic medicine if they had AAaAD mentors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

African American Otolaryngologists: Current Trends and Factors Influencing Career Choice

et al. 2019

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Objectives 1) Identify factors that influence African American physicians to choose a career in otolaryngology; 2) determine the predominant practice setting for African American otolaryngologists who can be role models; and 3) determine if the presence of an African American otolaryngologist in academic setting influences career choice. Methods Survey methodology included a 15‐item survey to determine trends in practice and factors that influenced choice of specialty. Results The results were reviewed for trends influencing career choice and practice location and stratified by age group. Most African American otolaryngologists are in academic practice and have subspecialty fellowship training. Enjoying medical student clerkship was the most frequently cited reason why African Americans chose otolaryngology as a career regardless of age. Early exposure was a driving factor in those 30 to 40 years old. Receiving mentorship was less influential in career choice for all age groups, but there was a positive association between those who were mentored in training and those who mentor faculty. Conclusion The findings suggest the continued need for initiatives to increase African Americans in our specialty. Encouraging early exposure, intentional mentoring of students, and development of African American role models who can be mentors may help increase the number of African American otolaryngologist faculty. This can help our specialty achieve racial parity in a percentage that matches the number of African Americans in the United States workforce. Level of Evidence 5 Laryngoscope, 130:2336–2342, 2020

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Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs

Cited by 117 publications

References 29 publications

Where Are the Women in Orthopaedic Surgery?

Where Are the Women in Orthopaedic Surgery?

The Distribution of Underrepresented Minorities in U.S. Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs

African American Otolaryngologists: Current Trends and Factors Influencing Career Choice

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