634 Future Women in Surgery and the Role of Mentorship

Abstract

Abstract Aim To understand the role of mentorship for female doctors in the decision- making process of pursuing surgery as a specialty or residency training. Method A systematic review of literature employing databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and EMBASE using the key words ‘Female”, “Surgery'', “Mentorship”. Inclusion criteria included articles in English between 2011–2021 to reflect the contemporary nature. Exclusion criteria include articles that are not in English and outside of the time frame 2011–2021. A thematic analysis was conducted to interpret the findings. Results 12 studies were included in this study. The results showed that mentorship was a key component in the decision- making process in the pursuit of a surgical career. Common themes showed that work-life balance was an obstacle for women to pursue surgery; a positive role model was pivotal in gaining insights into what a surgical career entail. Increasing use of social media has made mentorship more accessible for women pursuing surgery especially in locations where female role models were deficient. Mentorship was perceived to be a key factor in inspiring junior female doctors to pursue surgery. Conclusions Mentorship and positive role models are a crucial factor in encouraging female doctors to pursue surgery. The absence of visibility of female role models in surgery presents a current problem and recommendations would be to encourage more female surgeons to become mentors to encourage the next generation of female surgeons.