04 May What Are There Fewer Women in Surgical Subspecialties?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Alison Fecher
Alison M. Fecher, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Indiana University Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Fecher: It has long been known that female faculty are underrepresented in departments of surgery at U.S. medical schools. Our study wanted to identify obstacles women face in entering certain surgical subspecialties and in career advancement. We found that women are poorly represented in some of the most competitive subspecialties, including cardiothoracic and transplant surgery. We also found that women tend to advance more slowly up the career ladder, with many of them spending more years at the assistant professor level than their male counterparts. One reason for this may be that they tend to publish less peer-reviewed articles than male faculty; however, our results show that the publications of female faculty often has a greater impact on the field, as measured by citations and recentness of articles.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Fecher: Clinicians, particularly those in academic settings, should understand that experiences of female faculty often differ greatly from that of male faculty. Women often spend more years at junior faculty levels, despite their scholarly performance. Patients who may be more comfortable with female providers may need to understand that some specialties have fewer women available to treat them.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Fecher: Future research may focus on the roles of mentors in female surgeons’ careers, how leadership changes can encourage advancement of female faculty, and how female faculty members’ service commitments impact time for scholarly activities relative to male faculty.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Dr. Fecher: I would like to thank you for the opportunity to share our work. I would encourage more research into objective measurements and standards.
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation:
J Am Coll Surg. 2016 Apr 19. pii: S1072-7515(16)30076-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2016.03.042. [Epub ahead of print]
Understanding the Barriers to Hiring and Promoting Women in Surgical Subspecialties.
Valsangkar N1, Fecher AM1, Rozycki GS1, Blanton C1, Bell TM1, Freischlag J2, Ahuja N3, Zimmers TA1, Koniaris LG4.
Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.
More Medical Research Interviews on MedicalResearch.com
[wysija_form id=”5″]
Last Updated on May 4, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD