Abstract
An increasing proportion of women are working in medicine, although only very few choose surgical specialties and the interest in an academic pursuit is generally smaller among women compared to their male colleagues. The aim of the present study was to analyse factors critical for a successful academic career for female surgeons in Switzerland and to assess the value of mentor-mentee relationships in this context. An anonymous national survey among board-certified female surgeons and female residents was conducted in Switzerland during spring 2008. The support in career advancement was investigated with five scales: networking, career planning, coaching, role model and emotional support scale. Career development was assessed based on the following criteria: number of talks at scientific conferences, number of peer-reviewed publications, participation in research projects, months of research as a fulltime activity, amount of awarded scholarships, amount of obtained third-party funds and number of research awards obtained. In total, 189/318 (59.4%) questionnaires were returned. Mentor-mentee relationships were reported by 109/189 (58%) respondents. The bivariate analysis showed a positive influence on the sum score regarding the respondents who were in a mentor-mentee relationship or who had support in doing household work (p = 0.09). A supporting network, especially in terms of a mentor, is crucial so that female physicians interested in an academic career get the opportunity to accomplish their purpose. There is considerable potential for improvement as almost half of the respondents did not have a mentor in this survey.
Highlights
Mentorship is a type of formal social support and has been highlighted as a vital component for personal and career advancement, research productivity, career selection and interest in academic medicine [1, 2]
PRINCIPLES: An increasing proportion of women are working in medicine, only very few choose surgical specialties and the interest in an academic pursuit is generally smaller among women compared to their male colleagues
An anonymous national survey among boardcertified female surgeons and female residents was conducted in Switzerland during spring 2008
Summary
Mentorship is a type of formal social support and has been highlighted as a vital component for personal and career advancement, research productivity, career selection and interest in academic medicine [1, 2]. About 10% of the young physicians in Switzerland aspire to have an academic career, female physicians generally show less interest in academic pursuits than men [17,18,19] They have lower objective career success in terms of publications, grants, scholarships and research activities [17, 18, 20]. In the early stages of specialty training, a larger fraction of residents contemplate pursuing an academic career with an equal distribution between the sexes [20] Possible reasons for this decrease are, on one hand, the need for hard work and perseverance for a successful career in academic surgery [21].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
