Diversity efforts in surgery: Are we there yet?

Tawakalitu O Oseni; Bridget N Kelly; Kevin Pei; Matthew Nielsen; Susan C Pitt; Emilia Diego; Nicolas J Mouawad; Sharon L Stein

doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2022.01.014

Diversity efforts in surgery: Are we there yet?

Am J Surg. 2022 Jul;224(1 Pt B):259-263. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2022.01.014. Epub 2022 Jan 22.

Authors

Tawakalitu O Oseni¹, Bridget N Kelly², Kevin Pei³, Matthew Nielsen⁴, Susan C Pitt⁵, Emilia Diego⁶, Nicolas J Mouawad⁷, Sharon L Stein⁸

Affiliations

¹ Division of Surgical Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Association of Women Surgeons, HeForShe Committee, USA. Electronic address: toseni@mgh.harvard.edu.
² Division of Surgical Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
³ Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Parkview Health, Fort Wayne, IN, USA; Association of Women Surgeons, HeForShe Committee, USA.
⁴ Department of Urology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Association of Women Surgeons, HeForShe Committee, USA.
⁵ Division of Endocrine Surgery and Health Services Research, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Association of Women Surgeons, HeForShe Committee, USA.
⁶ Division of Breast Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Association of Women Surgeons, HeForShe Committee, USA.
⁷ Department of Vascular & Endovascular Surgery, McLaren Health System, Bay Region, Bay City, MI, USA; Department of Surgery, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA; Association of Women Surgeons, HeForShe Committee, USA.
⁸ Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, University Hospitals/Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA; Association of Women Surgeons, HeForShe Committee, USA.

PMID: 35131086
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2022.01.014

Abstract

Introduction: We aimed to assess and quantify recent efforts of surgical departments in achieving diversity, equity and inclusion.

Methods: Chairs of surgery at US hospitals were identified from a database maintained by the Association of Women Surgeons and surveyed to assess diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Results: A total of 226 surveys were sent out with a 22.6% response rate. Across all survey respondents, only 28.2% of surgeons were female and 24.4% were URiM, with no programs reporting any non-binary surgeons. In the last 3 years, 95.8% programs reported an increase in female surgeons, while only 75.5% programs reported an increase in URiM surgeons. Program size made no difference in diversity across race or gender.

Discussion: Recent recruitment efforts are bringing change to departments of surgery. Retaining diverse faculty, ensuring equity in promotions, and giving every faculty the opportunity to thrive is essential to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in surgery.

Keywords: Diversity; Equity; Inclusion; Leadership; Underrepresented in medicine.

MeSH terms

Faculty, Medical
Female
Humans
Leadership
Male
Surgeons*