P. P. Patel1, J. C. Kubasiak1, F. Bokari1, A. J. Dennis1, K. T. Joseph1, F. L. Starr1, D. E. Wiley1, K. K. Nagy1 1John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital Of Cook County,Trauma,CHICAGO, IL, USA
Introduction:
Research has shown that gender differences in both leadership behavior and effectiveness exist in the boardroom. Many studies have demonstrated that female senior executives operate with a greater degree of energy and intensity, are more assertive and competitive in their approach to achieving goals, and obtain a better financial bottom line. The aim of this study is to evaluate if these female leadership advantages exist in a resuscitation room by examining if a team led by a female trauma surgeon has better patient outcomes.
Methods:
We preformed a retrospective cohort study involving all adult trauma patients who were admitted to our level 1 trauma center from July 1, 2012 to September 30, 2012. Our center is led by 6 full-time surgical attendings (male = 3, female = 3) with call distributed equally amongst all attendings. The goal was to evaluate the effect of the gender of the admitting trauma surgeon on patient disposition (home, observation, ICU or operating room) while controlling for patient sex, age, mechanism of injury and trauma severity as defined by the Injury Severity Score (ISS). Secondary outcomes included length of stay (LOS), readmissions, and mortality. Statistical analysis was performed using a χ 2 test to obtain likelihood ratios and Student’s t-test when appropriate.
Results:
654 patients were enrolled in the study of which 647 patients were analyzed. The study population was 80% male with a mean age of 35.1 years and mean ISS of 8. No difference was noted between patients seen by male and female attendings. When stratified by ISS, no statistically significant relationship was found between the gender of the admitting trauma surgeon and patient disposition after initial resuscitation. Mean LOS, readmissions, and mortality were also equal.
Conclusion:
Patients with equal ISS were given the same disposition after resuscitation, averaged the same LOS, and had no difference in readmission or mortality regardless of the gender of the admitting surgeon. Our results suggest that although males and females may have different leadership styles, in the setting of leading the resuscitation of an acutely injured patient, the gender of the trauma surgeon does not impact outcomes.
