Perceptions of Orthopaedics and the Effect of Stereotypes on Medical Students.

Introduction: Orthopaedic surgery is the least diverse of all medical specialties. While the overall medical student population has shifted to a female majority, orthopaedics has not made the same progress. Are stereotypes of the specialty influencing medical students?

Methods: A survey was distributed to incoming and current medical students at a singular institution's medical school. The survey examined opinions on the field of orthopaedics and how social media plays a part in perpetuating stereotypes of orthopaedics.

Results: There were a total of 261 completed survey responses, for a response rate of approximately 32.6%. Eighty-eight percent of students have seen a social media portrayal of orthopaedics. These portrayals negatively affected the opinions of 56% of the medical students. Students with no previous exposure to orthopaedics were more likely to have an unfavorable opinion of the field.

Conclusions: Previous exposure to the field, whether before or during medical school, was associated with a more favorable opinion. Most medical students surveyed have seen social media portrayals that have negatively affected their outlook on the field of orthopaedics. Those with some first-hand orthopaedic experience before or during medical school were more likely to have a favorable opinion on the field. Female students were more likely to be deterred from orthopaedic surgery due to these stereotypes.

Level of evidence: Level V. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.