Women surgeons and the emergence of acute care surgery programs

Abstract

BackgroundIn parallel to women entering general surgery training, acute care surgery (ACS) has been developing as a team-based approach to emergency general surgery (EGS). We sought to examine predictors of women surgeons in EGS generally, and ACS particularly. MethodsFrom our national survey, we determined the proportion of women surgeons within EGS hospitals. We compared the proportion of women surgeons based on hospitals characteristics using chi-squared tests, then used regression models to measure odds of ACS relative to the proportion of women. Results779 (50.4%) hospitals had zero women surgeons. These hospitals were more likely non-ACS and non-teaching with <200 beds. ACS had a higher median proportion of women surgeons (17%) compared to non-ACS (0%). ConclusionOur study highlights the dearth of women representation within EGS hospitals nationally and illuminates some of the underlying characteristics of ACS that may draw women: urban, academic, and staffed by more recently trained surgeons. SummaryUsing a national survey of Emergency General Surgery (EGS) hospitals, we sought to examine predictors of women surgeons in EGS generally, and acute care surgery (ACS) particularly. We found that 779 (50.4%) hospitals had zero women surgeons. Women were more likely to be among EGS surgeons at hospitals with ACS models. Our study highlights the dearth of women representation within EGS hospitals nationally and illuminates some of the underlying characteristics of ACS that may draw women: urban, academic, and staffed by a higher proportion of newly trained surgeons.