Interpersonal Interactions and Biases in Orthopaedic Surgery Residency: Do Experiences Differ Based on Gender?

Abstract

Background: Women residents are underrepresented in orthopaedic surgery. The causes of the deficit of women in orthopaedic surgery are multifactorial, but by identifying the perceptions of women in orthopaedic residency training and comparing them with the perceptions of men, we can improve our understanding of ways to enhance the recruitment of qualified and diverse candidates.

Questions/purposes: (1) What differences exist in the perceived experiences of residents identifying as women and men regarding professional, social, and personal interactions during residency training? (2) Are there differences in the percentage of women and men residents who have experienced harassment or discrimination in preresidency interviews, and are there differences in the type of harassment or discrimination experienced?

Methods: A survey was generated using Academy of Critical Care: Development, Evaluation, and Methodology guidelines. Two focus groups with seven attending orthopaedic surgeons who participate in the Collaborative Orthopaedic Education Research Group and who are experts on gender diversity in orthopaedics were held to improve survey validity. The survey included binary-response, Likert, and free-text questions on the perception of professional, social, and personal interactions held by the resident being surveyed. The questions focused on a respondent's perception of interactions with staff members, patients, resident colleagues, and attending surgeons, as well as sexual harassment. Program directors at 10 selected Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited orthopaedic residency programs that participate in the Collaborative Orthopaedic Education Research Group shared the survey with residents at their institutions. There were 95 programs in the Collaborative Orthopaedic Education Research Group at the time this survey was distributed. In this program, directors or other interested teaching faculty in orthopaedic residency programs voluntarily participate to discuss and develop quality research on resident and fellow education. These 95 programs account for 46% of the ACGME-accredited programs in the United States at the time the survey was created and distributed. The 10 residency programs had a total of 232 enrolled residents; 15% (34) identified as women. This gender distribution models the national sample of orthopaedic residents. Survey reliability was assessed by calculating the Cronbach alpha after determining the variance in each relevant (nondemographic) survey item. The final survey was found to have excellent internal reliability (alpha = 0.95). Responses from residents identifying as women and those identifying as men were compared using Fisher exact tests for all categorical data, and two-tailed independent t-tests were used for all continuous data. Differences in each survey category (professional interactions, social interactions, personal interactions, and sexual harassment in preresidency interview experiences) were calculated.

Results: Women reported experiencing microaggressions (left undefined to the survey respondent, but generally considered to be subtle, stunning, often automatic, and nonverbal exchanges that are "put downs") at work more frequently than men did (40% [six of 15] versus 5% [four of 74]; p < 0.001). Specifically, women perceived being interrupted (53% [eight of 15] versus 5% [four of 75]); p < 0.001) by men colleagues, called by their first name (67% [10 of 15] versus 4% [3 of 72]; p < 0.001), and given administrative tasks (27% [four of 15] versus 1% [one of 75]; p = 0.004) more often than men. More women than men perceived that patients (33% [five of 15] versus 0 of 74 [0%]; p < 0.001) and hospital staff (27% [four of 15] versus 7% [five of 74]; p = 0.01) respected their opinion less than that of men. More women than men perceived that group humor negatively targeted their gender (47% [seven of 15] versus 1% [one of 75]; p < 0.001) and that criticism of their surgical skill was based on their gender rather than their ability (33% [five of 15] versus 5% [four of 78]; p = 0.005). In residency or subinternship interviews, 20% of women reported experiencing sexual harassment as defined by a listing of known types of harassment in the question stem, compared with 0% of men (p = 0.004). Women reported harassment in the form of verbal remarks of a sexual nature and obscene images in the workplace, whereas men did not report any form of harassment during interviews.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that the greatest discrepancies in the perceived experiences of women and men residents lie in professional interactions, and women residents are more likely to experience sexual harassment and disparaging humor than men residents.

Clinical relevance: Addressing these discrepancies, particularly in the professional setting, will help to create a more inclusive work environment and attract more women to orthopaedic surgery. Annual distribution of the survey used in this study by program directors to residents in their programs can help to identify discrepant perceptions that, coupled with the collection of objective data, can be targeted for improvement.