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International Orthopaedics Sep 2023Several studies have examined gender-equality challenges and ways to improve women's representation and management. Orthopaedic surgeons and patients are less gender... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
Several studies have examined gender-equality challenges and ways to improve women's representation and management. Orthopaedic surgeons and patients are less gender equitable than them of other surgical disciplines. This systematic review summarizes these findings and highlights orthopaedic surgery gender inequality.
METHODS
Search of the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases was carried out to extract human studies investigating the gender gap in orthopaedics, trying to highlight the equality challenges orthopaedic surgery faces. Studies incorporating patients with comorbidities in which gender is a proven risk factor, and pregnant women were excluded.
RESULTS
This systematic review included 59 studies involving 692,435 people (mean females/males ratio: 4.44), spanning the years 1987-2023. Regarding the targeted population, 35 (59.32%) studies focused on patients, while 24 (40.68%) on physicians. Orthopaedic surgery is described as an unfriendly career field for women as surgeons or sports leading physicians while women are generally under represented in the academic field of orthopaedics. Regarding patients, female gender consists both a risk and prognostic factor influencing the prevalence of degenerative disease and the outcome of the operative treatment in reconstructive orthopaedics. Female gender is a risk factor for multiple sports injuries and influences the pathogenetic mechanisms resulting in ACL reconstruction. Regarding spine surgery, women are less likely to have surgery suggested, and such suggestion underlines severe disease's progression.
CONCLUSIONS
Gender differences affect orthopaedic patient-physician-healthcare system interactions. Recognizing biases and their patterns is useful to improve the actual situation. By preventing those an unbiased, tolerant, and egalitarian workplace for physicians and a healthcare system that provides the best treatment to patients could be created.
Topics: Pregnancy; Male; Humans; Female; Orthopedics; Gender Equity; Orthopedic Procedures; Athletic Injuries; Orthopedic Surgeons
PubMed: 37433883
DOI: 10.1007/s00264-023-05876-w -
Clinical Orthopaedics and Related... Aug 2023
Topics: Humans; Internship and Residency; Education, Medical, Graduate; Orthopedics
PubMed: 37358484
DOI: 10.1097/CORR.0000000000002762 -
International Orthopaedics Aug 2021Residency programs in the medical education field are considered the keystone in the development of aptitude and skills required for practice. With the worldwide current... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
Residency programs in the medical education field are considered the keystone in the development of aptitude and skills required for practice. With the worldwide current scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a shift in the paradigm especially in the teaching of the residents from face-to-face classes to more and more online sessions. The purpose of this study is to present a compendium of knowledge-providing sites, smartphone applications (apps), YouTube channels, and podcasts that can provide better online resource management for students in the field of orthopaedics.
METHODS
Search terms were used for making a list of various online resources which can be of help during orthopaedic residency. An initial list of the selected websites, smartphone apps, podcasts, and YouTube channels was made. The corresponding author with years of teaching experience and faculty for post-graduate and fellowship training programs then selected the final list.
RESULTS
A list of 16 websites with brief points on their content and online address along with the availability of free or paid content was identified as being appropriate. A total of 39 apps available for android/apple smartphones, nine podcasts, and 11 YouTube channels were also identified as being extremely useful and have been discussed elaborately in this article.
CONCLUSION
Online educational tools are of immense importance in imparting adequate knowledge to an orthopaedic resident and act as an adjunct to conventional teaching methods. This article focuses on presenting various online educational resources in a simple yet concise way, which may be beneficial for the current generation of residents especially in this current time of unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.
Topics: COVID-19; Humans; Internship and Residency; Orthopedics; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 34080048
DOI: 10.1007/s00264-021-05101-6 -
Journal of Cancer Education : the... Apr 2021The objective of this study was to determine the characteristics and logistics of orthopedic oncology rotations at various residency programs across the USA and...
The objective of this study was to determine the characteristics and logistics of orthopedic oncology rotations at various residency programs across the USA and determine the effect of orthopedic oncology rotations on Orthopedic In-Training Examination (OITE) scores. An eight-question survey was sent to 162 orthopedic surgery residency programs obtained from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education public database. Pre-oncology rotation and post-oncology rotation OITE scores for 24 residents at a major academic medical center were collected and analyzed. The response rate was 43.8%. Survey results were as follows: 90.1% responded positively to having a dedicated orthopedic oncology rotation in their curriculum; 49.3% carried out their oncology rotation at a hospital outside of their home institution; 70.4% of programs had only one dedicated orthopedic oncology rotation throughout residency; 42.3% indicated that residents experience 6-10 weeks of dedicated orthopedic oncology training during the 5-year residency program; 42.2% indicated that residents experience oncology rotations during post-graduate year 4; and 80.3% of programs had orthopedic oncology trained surgeons on their faculty. The mean increase in OITE oncology scores after the rotation was 12.1% (p = 0.005). There are variations in orthopedic oncology curricula across residency programs, most notably in the number of weeks residents participate in a dedicated oncology rotation, the post-graduate year that residents rotate on an oncology service, and the location where residents obtain their orthopedic oncology training. Participating in a dedicated orthopedic oncology rotation resulted in significant improvement in scores on the oncology domain of the OITE.
Topics: Clinical Competence; Curriculum; Education, Medical, Graduate; Educational Measurement; Humans; Internship and Residency; Orthopedics; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 31625019
DOI: 10.1007/s13187-019-01619-x -
The Iowa Orthopaedic Journal Jun 2022Family planning is a challenge for physicians at all stages of their careers, but particularly difficult during residency. Residency commonly occurs during prime...
Family planning is a challenge for physicians at all stages of their careers, but particularly difficult during residency. Residency commonly occurs during prime childbearing years and is associated with long work hours and inflexible schedules. A commonly cited deterrent for women entering orthopaedic surgery is the inability to achieve a healthy and fulfilling work-life balance. Further, those women who pursue starting a family during residency have been shown to have higher rates of pregnancy-related complications including infertility with complications rates as high as 30%. In a recent AAOS article, a call to action for modified policies to prioritize the health of pregnant orthopaedic surgeons and their unborn children was made to decrease the overall risk to women who wish to have children during residency and early practice. The University of Iowa has a history of attracting women into the orthopedic training program. We asked past graduates of the University of Iowa Orthopedic Residency program who had children during residency to share their personal experiences and opinions. We asked past graduates to answer five questions surrounding their pregnancy during residency. We have included the good, the bad, and the ugly with real-life testimonies in hopes that despite the statistics, women in our field considering pregnancy will find comfort in those that have been through it. Four prior residents were kind enough to share their experiences. Dr. Sarah Schippers (SS) completed residency in 2021 and is currently finishing a hand and upper extremity fellowship and will soon be starting private practice in Kansas. She shares on her experience regarding two pregnancies during residency. Dr. Tina Hajewski (TH) completed residency in 2021 and is also currently finishing a spine fellowship and will soon be starting private practice in Washington, sharing on her experience having two children during residency. Dr. Elizabeth Weldin (EW) completed residency in 2018 and is a current hand and upper extremity attending in Oklahoma and shares her experience having a child during residency and the contrast to having children during practice. Finally, Dr. Heather Campion (HW) completed residency in 2012 and is a current hand and upper extremity attending in Oregon and shares her experience as being the first Iowa orthopaedic resident to have a child during residency. Level of Evidence: V.
Topics: Female; Humans; Internship and Residency; Iowa; Orthopedic Procedures; Orthopedic Surgeons; Orthopedics; Pregnancy
PubMed: 35821958
DOI: No ID Found -
The Surgeon : Journal of the Royal... Oct 2023Gender pay gaps are present in a wide range of industries, with the medical profession being no exception. The aim of this systematic review was to analyse the... (Review)
Review
AIMS
Gender pay gaps are present in a wide range of industries, with the medical profession being no exception. The aim of this systematic review was to analyse the peer-reviewed literature to identify whether there is a gender pay gap in orthopaedics.
METHODS
A systematic review was conducted by searching the following databases: MEDLINE, Health & Medical Collection, Nursing & Allied Health Database, Publicly Available Content Database, Consumer Health Database and Healthcare Administration Database. Original research papers pertaining to the earnings of male and female orthopaedic surgeons were included for review.
RESULTS
Of 745 papers acquired through the database search, 12 were eligible for inclusion. These were published in the USA, Canada and Taiwan. 6 looked at the relationship between sex and annual income, 4 studied industry payments, one analysed hourly earnings and one compared payments per case between males and females. Men were found to earn significantly higher annual incomes than women, even when confounding factors such as rank, practice setting and subspeciality were accounted for. Men also receive significantly higher payments from industry, and earn more per hour than women.
CONCLUSION
This systematic review has demonstrated that there is a gender pay gap in orthopaedics, with women commonly earning significantly less than their male colleagues. The reasons for this, however, remain unclear, and deserve further investigation. It is incumbent upon orthopaedic departments, healthcare providers and orthopaedic associations to raise awareness and ensure that men and women are paid the same for equal work.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Orthopedics; Salaries and Fringe Benefits; Orthopedic Procedures; Canada
PubMed: 36918303
DOI: 10.1016/j.surge.2023.02.003 -
Clinical Orthopaedics and Related... Dec 2022
Topics: Humans; Orthopedics; Curriculum; Education, Medical, Graduate; Educational Status; Internship and Residency
PubMed: 36374583
DOI: 10.1097/CORR.0000000000002477 -
European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery... Jan 2021As the demand for research within orthopaedic surgery continues to grow, it is important to emphasize appropriate data reporting. Insufficient statistical reporting... (Review)
Review
As the demand for research within orthopaedic surgery continues to grow, it is important to emphasize appropriate data reporting. Insufficient statistical reporting confounds data interpretation and makes it difficult to compare results. Currently, there are no guidelines for reporting results within the orthopaedic literature. This article discusses the importance of appropriate data reporting and proposes guidelines for presenting orthopaedic data to highlight clinical relevance rather than statistical significance.
Topics: Biomedical Research; Confidence Intervals; Humans; Orthopedics; Probability; Research Design
PubMed: 33389055
DOI: 10.1007/s00590-020-02843-8 -
The Iowa Orthopaedic Journal Dec 2023Cast application is a critical portion of pediatric orthopaedic surgery training and is being performed by a growing number of non-orthopaedic clinicians including... (Review)
Review
Cast application is a critical portion of pediatric orthopaedic surgery training and is being performed by a growing number of non-orthopaedic clinicians including primary care physicians and advanced practice providers (APPs). Given the tremendous remodeling potential of pediatric fractures, correct cast placement often serves as the definitive treatment in this age population as long as alignment is maintained. Proper cast application technique is typically taught through direct supervision from more senior clinicians, with little literature and few resources available for providers to review during the learning process. Given the myriad complications that can result from cast application or removal, including pressure sores and cast saw burns, a thorough review of proper cast technique is warranted. This review and technique guide attempts to illustrate appropriate upper and lower extremity fiberglass cast application (and waterproof casts), including pearls and pitfalls of cast placement. This basic guide may serve as a resource for all orthopaedic and non-orthopaedicproviders, including residents, APPs, and medical students in training. Level of Evidence: IV.
Topics: Humans; Child; Casts, Surgical; Orthopedics; Internship and Residency; Fractures, Bone; Burns
PubMed: 38213863
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 2022As the competitiveness of orthopaedic surgery residency increases, we sought to determine whether program and Program Director (PD) characteristics influence candidate...
As the competitiveness of orthopaedic surgery residency increases, we sought to determine whether program and Program Director (PD) characteristics influence candidate selection. This novel 19-question survey reviews PDs' opinions and practices in resident selection. Response rate was 31% (63/203). Performance during orthopaedic rotations, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) scores, and clerkship honors were the top three ranked criteria, with USMLE scores used to screen candidates for interviews (70%) and rotations (43%). PDs practicing < 10 years felt USMLE scores reflect resident quality, while those practicing >10 years felt they reflect ability to pass the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery exam. Most (81%) accept applicants with low scores. PDs > 66 years old emphasized academic honors and Dean's letters, PDs 46-55 emphasized conscientiousness, and PDs practicing >21 years emphasized dexterity. PD demographics such as age, time in practice, and geographic location affect how they approach candidate selection. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 31(1):042-047, 2022).
Topics: Aged; Humans; Internship and Residency; Orthopedic Procedures; Orthopedics; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States
PubMed: 35377307
DOI: No ID Found