Photo Credit: Pornpak Khunatorn
The following is a summary of “Disparities in the Operative Experience Between Female and Male General Surgery Residents,” published in the July 2023 issue of Surgery by Winer et al.
To assess disparities in operative experience among male and female general surgery residents. Despite the growing presence of women in the field of surgery, differences related to sex and gender persist in the residency experience. The comparative analysis of operative caseloads between male and female general surgery residents at multiple institutions has yet to be conducted. Demographic characteristics and case logs were collected for categorical general surgery graduates between 2010 and 2020 from the US Resident Operative Experience Consortium database, which is a medical database.
Univariable, multivariable, and linear regression analyses were conducted to assess disparities in surgical exposure among male and female residents. About 1,343 individuals completed training from 20 programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Among these graduates, 476 individuals (35%) identified as females. There were no variations in age, race/ethnicity, or proportion of individuals seeking fellowship between the groups. Female graduates were less likely to be high-volume residents than their male counterparts (27% vs. 36%, P < 0.01). In the univariable analysis, it was observed that female graduates had a lower number of total cases compared to male graduates (1,140 vs. 1,177, P < 0.01). This difference is primarily attributed to reduced experience among female surgeon juniors (829 vs. 863, P < 0.01). The adjusted multivariable analysis found that being female was negatively correlated with being a high-volume resident (odds ratio = 0.74, 95% confidence interval: 0.56 to 0.98, P-value = 0.03).
During the 11-year observational period, there was a notable increase in the total number of cases annually for both cohorts. However, it is worth noting that female graduates exhibited a higher growth rate (+16 cases/year) than male graduates (+13 cases/year, P = 0.02). Female general surgery graduates showed a notable decrease in the number of cases performed compared to their male counterparts. This deficit in surgical exposure may be diminishing. Additional medical interventions are indicated to facilitate equal training opportunities that promote and involve female residents.
