A Comparative Analysis of Women's Experiences in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation versus Orthopaedic Surgery.

Objective: This study aims to understand positive and negative experiences shared between women in PM&R and orthopaedic surgery to uncover pervasive issues within two male-dominated specialties with the end goal of improving both interest and representation of women.

Design: Surveys were distributed to women practicing PM&R and to women practicing orthopaedic surgery. Questions included close-ended, open-ended, and identifiers on a 4-point modified Likert scale. Data was anonymously collected using REDCap electronic data capture tools.

Results: Negative experiences were much more common within orthopaedics, which also has a lower percentage of women. 7.3% of PM&R respondents versus 28.2% of orthopaedics respondents reported experiencing sexual harassment. 11.5% of PM&R respondents versus 79.2% of orthopaedics respondents reported witnessing sexist comments or behaviors. Furthermore, 13.7% of PM&R respondents versus 60.6% of orthopaedics respondents reported an unwelcoming environment. Regarding positive experiences, 68.6% of PM&R respondents versus 71.6% of orthopaedics respondents found exposure to the field encouraging. 69.6% of PM&R respondents versus 87.4% of orthopaedics respondents reported having a mentor in the field encouraging.

Conclusion: Stark differences were reported regarding sexist comments or behaviors, illustrating a dichotomous environment between PM&R and orthopaedic surgery. Although PM&R has significantly lower percentages of these behaviors, there is still ample room for improvement.