Barry Parul N, Fallat Mary E
Am Surg. 2011 Nov;77(11):1432-4.
Gender balance in surgery is a respectable and necessary goal. At the University of Louisville (UL) School of Medicine, we have compared percentages of UL medical student applicants to general surgery or surgical subspecialty residency programs, surgical residents, and surgical faculty with the rest of the nation. Although UL has at times paralleled or exceeded the nation in many of these categories, there is room for improvement and the comparison data allow for strategic planning initiatives. To promote gender balance among future generations of surgeons at UL, we recently implemented a mentoring program that pairs medical students with residents and faculty in surgery. We plan to track the success over time and correct any shortcomings of this program. Virginia Commonwealth University's commitment to gender balance in surgery is exemplary. As part of a more comprehensive vision to create a mentorship program for female medical students at the UL School of Medicine, we have recently recruited female surgical residents and faculty, whom we hope will provide the type of inspiration and guidance that will increase the number of women from UL who decide to train in general surgery and the surgical specialties. To understand why women across the nation are not generally at numerical parity in these fields, it is important to consider the length and intensity of the surgical residency programs in the context of the other goals and objectives that a woman might have for her future. This article does not address this broad topic but provides a perspective of how a medical school can evaluate and perhaps intervene to mentor medical students more effectively about the satisfaction derived from a career in surgery. As part of this project, we have evaluated each step of the path through medical school and a surgical residency by comparing data for our students, residency programs, and faculty with national data.
外科领域的性别平衡是一个值得尊重且必要的目标。在路易斯维尔大学医学院，我们将该校申请普通外科或外科亚专科住院医师项目的医学生、外科住院医师以及外科教员的比例与全国其他地区进行了比较。尽管在许多这类类别中，路易斯维尔大学有时与全国水平相当甚至超过全国水平，但仍有改进空间，而比较数据有助于开展战略规划举措。为了在路易斯维尔大学培养未来几代外科医生的过程中促进性别平衡，我们最近实施了一个指导项目，将医学生与外科住院医师及教员配对。我们计划长期跟踪该项目的成效，并纠正其任何不足之处。弗吉尼亚联邦大学在外科领域对性别平衡的承诺堪称典范。作为为路易斯维尔大学医学院女医学生创建指导项目这一更全面愿景的一部分，我们最近招募了女性外科住院医师和教员，希望她们能提供那种激励和指导，从而增加路易斯维尔大学决定接受普通外科和外科亚专科培训的女性人数。要理解为何全国范围内女性在这些领域的数量普遍未达到均等，在考虑女性未来可能拥有的其他目标和追求的背景下，考量外科住院医师项目的时长和强度很重要。本文不探讨这个宽泛的话题，而是提供一个视角，即医学院如何评估并可能进行干预，以便更有效地指导医学生了解从外科职业生涯中获得的满足感。作为该项目的一部分，我们通过将本校学生、住院医师项目及教员的数据与全国数据进行比较，评估了从医学院到外科住院医师培训这一过程的每一步。
