Bowe SN, Wang X, Whipple ME, Bly RA. Evidence of Specialty-Specific Gender Disparities in Resident Recruitment and Selection.
J Grad Med Educ 2021;
13:841-847. [PMID:
35070097 PMCID:
PMC8672845 DOI:
10.4300/jgme-d-21-00337.1]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Specialty-specific gender disparities are multifactorial, yet one area that is lacking from this discussion is the impact of recruitment and selection.
OBJECTIVE
Customized data reports were utilized to compare trends in the gender representation of applicants and residents within 11 surgical and medical specialties between 2013 and 2018.
METHODS
Applicant data was obtained from the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) and resident data from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Eleven specialties with the highest number of applications per applicant were included (dermatology, emergency medicine, general surgery, neurological surgery, obstetrics and gynecology [OB/GYN], orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, plastic surgery, radiation oncology, radiology, urology). A Cochran-Armitage trend test assessed for changes in the proportion of females within the total applicant group and the corresponding matched resident group. A t test was utilized to compare the mean proportion of females for ERAS and ACGME data.
RESULTS
Otolaryngology, plastic surgery, radiation oncology, and urology had no significant changes over the study period. Dermatology, general surgery, and orthopedic surgery demonstrated increased gender diversity in applicants over time, while OB/GYN demonstrated decreased gender diversity. General surgery and neurological surgery showed increased gender diversity in resident representation over time. Emergency medicine and radiology had increased gender diversity, and OB/GYN had decreased gender diversity in matched residents compared to applicants.
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings provide baseline data, but also illustrate evident gaps in our understanding and attempts to improve gender diversity. A multifaceted approach to obtaining and assessing data from all stages of residency recruitment and selection is necessary to support these efforts.
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