Where Do Gender Disparities in Research Productivity Begin? A Study of Orthopedic Surgery Applicants and Residents

IF 2.6 3区医学 Q1 EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES

Journal of Surgical Education Pub Date : 2025-04-08 DOI:10.1016/j.jsurg.2025.103509

Avani A. Chopra BS , Freddy P. Jacome BS , Matthew Weintraub BSE , Makenna Isley BS , Frances Akwuole BS , Sia Cho BS , Justin J. Lee MS , James S. MacLeod MD , Owen Lema , Alfonso Mejia MD, MPH

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

The gender disparity in orthopedic surgery is multifactorial, driven by the lack of female mentorship, limited female leadership in academic roles, and challenges in pursuing academic positions. Research productivity and authorship are areas where these disparities manifest, with women being significantly underrepresented. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate whether gender disparities in orthopedic research productivity are apparent as early as medical school.

Design, setting, and participants

A comprehensive analysis was conducted on orthopedic surgery residents from 208 ACGME-accredited programs across the United States. Data were collected between February and April 2024 from publicly accessible resources, covering 4320 residents (927 females, 3393 males). Pre-residency and residency publication data were gathered using Elsevier Scopus Application Programming Interface (APIs). The study compared total publications and first author publications between male and female residents, categorizing them as preresidency or residency publications. p-values were calculated using unpaired t-tests to evaluate gender differences.

Results

Among the 2723 residents with preresidency publications, there was no statistically significant difference between male and female residents in the mean number of publications (p = 0.1267) or first authorship publications (p = 0.9389). During residency, however, male residents had a significantly higher mean number of publications than female residents (p = 0.0002), although no significant difference was observed in first authorships (p = 0.2538).

Conclusion

Our results suggest that while gender disparities in research productivity are not apparent preresidency, they emerge during residency, with male residents producing more publications. This difference is likely influenced by the lack of mentorship and female representation within the field of orthopedic surgery. Addressing these disparities requires targeted efforts to increase female mentorship and support within orthopedic residency programs.

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来源期刊

Journal of Surgical Education EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES-SURGERY

CiteScore

5.60

自引率

10.30%

发文量

261

审稿时长

48 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Surgical Education (JSE) is dedicated to advancing the field of surgical education through original research. The journal publishes research articles in all surgical disciplines on topics relative to the education of surgical students, residents, and fellows, as well as practicing surgeons. Our readers look to JSE for timely, innovative research findings from the international surgical education community. As the official journal of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS), JSE publishes the proceedings of the annual APDS meeting held during Surgery Education Week.