Department of Emergency Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, 720 Eskenazi Ave, Fifth Third Bank Building 3rd Fl, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
Faculty, Division of Simulation, Department of Emergency Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
BMC Med Educ. 2023 Apr 14;23(1):243. doi: 10.1186/s12909-023-04170-y.
Currently, 75-80% of the medical workforce worldwide consists of women. Yet, women comprise 21% of full professors and less than 20% of department chairs and medical school deans. Identified causes of gender disparities are multifactorial including work-life responsibilities, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, bias, lack of confidence, gender differences in negotiation and leadership emergence, and lack of mentorship, networking, and/or sponsorship. A promising intervention for the advancement of women faculty is the implementation of Career Development Programs (CDPs). Women physician CDP participants were shown to be promoted in rank at the same rate as men by year five, and more likely to remain in academics after eight years compared to both men and women counterparts. The objective of this pilot study is to investigate the effectiveness of a novel, simulation-based, single-day CDP curriculum for upper-level women physician trainees to teach communication skills identified as contributing to medicine's gender advancement gap.
This was a pilot, pre/post study performed in a simulation center implementing a curriculum developed to educate women physicians on 5 identified communication skills recognized to potentially reduce the gender gap. Pre- and post-intervention assessments included confidence surveys, cognitive questionnaires, and performance action checklists for five workplace scenarios. Assessment data were analyzed using scored medians and descriptive statistics, applying Wilcoxon test estimation to compare pre- versus post-curriculum intervention scores, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant.
Eleven residents and fellows participated in the curriculum. Confidence, knowledge, and performance improved significantly after completion of the program. Pre-confidence: 28 (19.0-31.0); Post-confidence: 41 (35.0-47.0); p < 0.0001. Pre-knowledge: 9.0 (6.0-11.00); Post knowledge: 13.0 (11.0-15.0); p < 0.0001. Pre-performance: 35.0 (16.0-52.0); Post-performance: 46.0 (37-53.00); p < 0.0001.
Overall, this study demonstrated the successful creation of a novel, condensed CDP curriculum based on 5 identified communication skills needed for women physician trainees. The post-curriculum assessment demonstrated improved confidence, knowledge, and performance. Ideally, all women medical trainees would have access to convenient, accessible, and affordable courses teaching these crucial communication skills to prepare them for careers in medicine to strive to reduce the gender gap.
目前，全球 75-80%的医务人员为女性。然而，女性在正教授中仅占 21%，在系主任和医学院院长中不到 20%。造成性别差异的原因有很多，包括工作与生活责任、性别歧视、性骚扰、偏见、缺乏信心、谈判和领导力出现方面的性别差异，以及缺乏指导、网络和/或赞助。为促进女性教职员工发展而采取的一项有希望的干预措施是实施职业发展计划（CDP）。研究表明，参加女性医师 CDP 的参与者在第五年的晋升速度与男性相同，并且与男性和女性相比，在八年之后更有可能留在学术界。本研究的目的是调查一项新的、基于模拟的、为期一天的高级女性医师培训课程的有效性，该课程旨在教授被认为有助于缩小医学性别差距的沟通技巧。
这是一项在模拟中心进行的试点、前后研究，该中心实施了一项课程，旨在教育女性医生识别出 5 种可能导致性别差距的沟通技巧。在干预前后评估中，包括信心调查、认知问卷和五个工作场景的绩效行动检查表。使用评分中位数和描述性统计分析评估评估数据，应用 Wilcoxon 检验估计来比较课程干预前后的分数，p<0.05 被认为具有统计学意义。
11 名住院医师和研究员参加了该课程。在完成课程后，信心、知识和绩效显著提高。干预前信心：28（19.0-31.0）；干预后信心：41（35.0-47.0）；p<0.0001。干预前知识：9.0（6.0-11.00）；干预后知识：13.0（11.0-15.0）；p<0.0001。干预前绩效：35.0（16.0-52.0）；干预后绩效：46.0（37-53.00）；p<0.0001。
总的来说，本研究成功地创建了一个基于女性医师培训生所需的 5 种沟通技巧的新型、浓缩的 CDP 课程。课程干预后的评估显示出信心、知识和绩效的提高。理想情况下，所有女性医学培训生都可以获得便捷、可及和负担得起的课程，教授这些关键的沟通技巧，为他们的医学职业生涯做好准备，努力缩小性别差距。
