Gender and Geographic Trends Among Foot and Ankle Surgeons

NewsBot · Oct 4, 2022

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Gender and Geographic Trends Among Foot and Ankle Surgeons: Where Are We and Where Do We Need to Improve?
Kiya Shazadeh Safavi et al
Foot Ankle Spec. 2022 Sep 27

Introduction: Women have historically been underrepresented in orthopaedics. This study analyzes the geographic distribution of female orthopaedic foot and ankle (OFA) surgeons, as well as geographic patterns between their training locations and current practices.

Methods: American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) data regarding fellowship completion from 1988 to 2021 were analyzed. Internet searches were then performed to identify medical school, residency, and current practice locations of individual surgeons. States were categorized into regions and divisions based on US Census Bureau guidelines.

Results: Of the 1088 OFA surgeons analyzed, 166 (15.26%) were women and 922 (84.74%) were men. The South has a higher number of female OFA surgeons; however, this region and the Midwest have the lowest percentages of female representation. The West and Northeast had significantly higher percentages of female representation and higher retention rates for women. There was high variability in the number and percentage of female OFA surgeons in divisions both within and between regions.

Conclusion: Although the number of female OFA surgeons has increased, their representation remains low. Geographically, the East South Central division of the United States consistently had the least number of OFA surgeons, whereas the South Atlantic division had the highest.
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NewsBot · Feb 7, 2024

Analysis of Gender Diversity Within Foot and Ankle Surgery Fellowship Programs
Elizabeth Cho et al
Foot Ankle Int. 2024 Jan 30

Background: Women continue to be underrepresented in orthopaedic surgery. This study seeks to evaluate gender diversity of faculty and trainees at foot and ankle surgery fellowship programs.

Methods: In this cross-sectional analysis of 49 US foot and ankle fellowship programs, all publicly available data on program faculty (as of July 2023) were collected, as well as data on current and past fellows between 2018 and 2024.

Results: Of 49 programs with 195 foot and ankle surgery faculty, 26.5% (n = 13) had at least 1 female on faculty, with only 8.2% (n = 4) having female fellowship directors. Female faculty made up 9.7% (n = 19) of foot and ankle surgery faculty overall. Of 307 total fellows identified within the 6-year period, 19.5% (n = 60) were female. Geographic distribution of programs was as follows: 29% (n = 14) Northeast, 31% (n = 15) South, 19% (n = 9) Midwest, and 21% (n = 10) West. Northeast programs made up 62% of all programs with female faculty, whereas Midwest programs made up the least at 8% (P = .048). Programs with female faculty had more female fellows from 2018 to 2024 than programs without female faculty (33.7% vs 14%, P < .001).

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that females remain underrepresented in foot and ankle surgery fellowship director positions, despite an increasing proportion of females entering orthopaedic surgery. Foot and ankle surgery fellowship programs with female faculty had a higher number of female trainees; as such, diversification of foot and ankle fellowship departments may be an important factor in ongoing efforts to promote gender diversity within the specialty.
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