University of Sheffield Medical School, UK.
Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2022 Jun;104(6):427-433. doi: 10.1308/rcsann.2021.0250. Epub 2021 Nov 30.
Today, women make up 56% of medical students, yet just 13% of surgical consultants - a number that has remained static since 2013. This qualitative study explored some of the barriers to female success in modern surgery.
Semistructured qualitative interviews were undertaken primarily with female surgical trainees to determine the barriers they face. Male trainees and training programme directors (TPDs) were also interviewed for triangulation.
20 interviews were performed (16 female trainees, 3 male trainees, and 1 TPD) between October 2019 and March 2020. Family pressures and becoming a mother were significant barriers for women training in surgery - a barrier that did not apply to male trainees who were fathers, often resulting in women choosing to train less than full time (LTFT). Unfortunately LTFT training presents further obstacles for female trainees. The set-up of the national training programme in surgery provides many non-gender-specific barriers, chiefly moving hospital every 6 months causing disrupted training and long commutes, disproportionately affecting females with child care responsibilities. Sexism and discrimination are still common, both from colleagues and patients. Many participants perceived inherent differences between genders in communication and methods for coping with stress.
Greater gender equality in surgery may be achieved by changes in the structure and organisation of training to reduce the tension between the professional role and the predominantly female-led role of raising children. Better equality and diversity training and awareness at all levels in surgery may help to mitigate some of the conscious and unconscious bias that still exists.
如今，女性在医学生中占 56%，但在外科顾问中仅占 13%——自 2013 年以来，这一数字一直保持不变。本定性研究探讨了女性在现代外科成功中面临的一些障碍。
主要对女性外科受训者进行半结构式定性访谈，以确定她们面临的障碍。还对男性受训者和培训项目主管（TPD）进行了访谈，以进行三角验证。
2019 年 10 月至 2020 年 3 月期间进行了 20 次访谈（16 名女性受训者、3 名男性受训者和 1 名 TPD）。家庭压力和成为母亲对接受外科培训的女性来说是一个重大障碍——这对身为父亲的男性受训者来说并不是一个障碍，他们往往选择非全时培训（LTFT）。不幸的是，LTFT 培训对女性受训者来说又带来了进一步的障碍。外科全国培训计划的设置存在许多非性别特定的障碍，主要是每 6 个月搬一次医院，导致培训中断和通勤时间长，这对有育儿责任的女性影响更大。性别歧视和歧视仍然很常见，既有来自同事的，也有来自患者的。许多参与者认为，在沟通和应对压力的方法方面，男女之间存在内在差异。
通过改变培训的结构和组织，减少职业角色和以女性为主导的育儿角色之间的紧张关系，外科领域的性别平等可能会得到更大的提高。在外科领域的各个层面进行更好的平等和多样性培训和提高认识，可能有助于减轻仍然存在的一些有意识和无意识的偏见。
