Editor's Note Although women are underrepresented in high-compensation medical specialties, new research shows a significant increase in female applicants and matriculants to surgical specialties specifically. Published September 30 in JAMA Network, the study found that the proportion of women entering high-compensation surgical specialties rose from 28.8% to 42.4%. In contrast,…
Editor's Note Contradicting previous research suggesting potentially improved surgical outcomes for female surgeons, the largest analysis to date finds that gender has only a small statistical, clinically marginal correlation. Appearing in the September issue of Annals of Surgery, the study involved 4,882,784 patients operated on by 11,955 female surgeons (33%…
Editor's Note Surgeons and surgical trainees who are female or from minority racial or ethnic backgrounds report higher levels of negative emotions and self-doubt after adverse events, according to a recent study in JAMA Network Open. According to a June 5 report in MedPage Today, the single-site, mixed-methods study found…
Takeaways Although women comprise half the population, they were left out of medical research on major causes of death for both women and men—cancer, heart disease, and stroke—until 1990. Using surgical tools designed by men, for men can impact every aspect of a woman surgeon’s work, from learning new procedures…
Editor's Note The more diverse the surgical team, the better the outcomes for patients and the lower the cost of care, according to a study of more than 700,000 operations at 88 hospitals in Ontario, Canada. Published May 15 in the British Journal of Surgery, findings show that surgeon-anesthetist teams…
Editor's Note A new study showing women treated by female doctors are less likely to die or be readmitted to the hospital adds to the growing body of evidence that women and minorities tend to receive worse medical care than men and white patients, NBC News reported April 22. Published…
Editor's Note This study, titled "Leadership and Impostor Syndrome in Surgery" and published in the October 2023 issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, examined how impostor syndrome–an internalized sense of incompetence and not belonging–impacts surgeons holding leadership positions in healthcare. The study included 2,183 attending and…
Editor's Note This Canadian study examines whether surgeon gender is associated with long-term postoperative patient outcomes. A total of 1,165,711 patients (151,054 treated by female surgeons and 1,014,657 treated by male surgeons) were included in the analysis. Multivariate adjusted rates of adverse postoperative events (ie, death, readmission, or complication) showed…