Priming Medical Students for Careers in Orthopedic Surgery: Twenty Years of 1 Department's Early Pathway Program

IF 2.6 3区医学 Q1 EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES

Journal of Surgical Education Pub Date : 2025-04-24 DOI:10.1016/j.jsurg.2025.103516

Amelia Goldstein BS, Vinay K. Aggarwal MD, Eric J. Strauss MD, Kenneth A. Egol MD

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

This study assesses the impact of a structured summer externship program (SEP) in orthopedic surgery on participants' career trajectories and diversity within the field. Specifically, we evaluated the proportion of SEP participants who chose a career in orthopedic surgery and analyzed trends in gender and racial/ethnic diversity among the cohort over a 20-year period.

Design

A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted using data from participants in 1 academic department's SEP between 2004 and 2023. Participant demographic data, ultimate specialty match information, and residency outcomes were collected and statistically analyzed to assess trends in specialty selection, gender, and racial/ethnic diversity among the SEP alumni.

Setting

This study took place in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at a large academic tertiary medical center.

Participants

The study included 564 medical students who participated in the SEP between 2004 and 2023. Of these, 441 (78.2%) have graduated from medical school to date, 114 (20.2%) are still enrolled, and 5 (0.89%) have left medicine for careers in other sectors. Data for 9 participants (1.6%) was unavailable.

Results

Among the 436 graduates, 161 (36.9%) eventually matched into orthopedic surgery. An additional 13.5% entered internal medicine, 7.3% matched into radiology, 6.6% into emergency medicine, 5.5% into anesthesiology, and 30.3% into various other specialties. Female representation in the SEP increased from 16.6% in 2004 to 51.1% in 2023 (χ² = 4.95, p = 0.026), while non-white participant representation grew from 16.6% to 45% over the same period (χ² =3.18, p = 0.075).

Conclusions

The SEP is one way of providing resources and opportunity for engagement for students interested in orthopedic surgery careers while promoting diversity within the field. This program serves as a valuable pathway, offering early exposure to orthopedic surgery, research opportunities, and professional networking, all of which may play an increasingly critical role as residency selection criteria evolve. The SEP's advantages to participants underscore the importance of targeted programs in fostering opportunity for previously underrepresented groups in the field of orthopedic surgery.

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为医学生在骨科的职业生涯做准备：二十年来一个部门的早期衔接项目

目的本研究评估骨科暑期实习项目（SEP）对参与者职业发展轨迹和领域多样性的影响。具体而言，我们评估了SEP参与者选择骨科手术职业的比例，并分析了20年来队列中性别和种族/民族多样性的趋势。DesignA回顾性队列分析使用2004年至2023年1个学术部门SEP参与者的数据。收集参与者的人口统计数据、最终专业匹配信息和住院医师结果，并进行统计分析，以评估SEP校友在专业选择、性别和种族/民族多样性方面的趋势。本研究在一家大型学术三级医疗中心的骨科进行。该研究包括2004年至2023年间参加SEP的564名医学生。其中，441人（78.2%）已从医学院毕业，114人（20.2%）仍在就读，5人（0.89%）已离开医学从事其他行业。9名参与者（1.6%）的数据不可用。结果436名毕业生中，有161人（36.9%）最终进入骨科工作。另有13.5%的人选择了内科，7.3%的人选择了放射科，6.6%的人选择了急诊医学，5.5%的人选择了麻醉科，30.3%的人选择了其他专业。女性参与SEP的比例从2004年的16.6%增加到2023年的51.1% (χ² = 4.95,p = 0.026)，而同期非白人参与者的比例从16.6%增加到45% （χ²=3.18,p = 0.075）。结论SEP是为有兴趣从事骨科职业的学生提供资源和机会的一种方式，同时促进了该领域的多样性。这个项目作为一个有价值的途径，提供了早期接触骨科手术、研究机会和专业网络的机会，随着住院医师选择标准的发展，所有这些都可能发挥越来越重要的作用。SEP对参与者的优势强调了有针对性的计划在促进骨科手术领域以前代表性不足的群体的机会的重要性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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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.