L. Theiss1, B. Corey1, H. Chen1, R. Dabal1,2 1University Of Alabama at Birmingham,Birmingham, Alabama, USA 2Children’s Of Alabama,Birmingham, ALABAMA, USA
Introduction: The progress of general surgery residents in the United States is measured both by subjective and objective measures. Peer-to-peer, faculty-to-resident, and student-to-resident evaluations play an important role in measuring resident progress and providing constructive feedback. However, bias is unavoidable in the evaluation process. We sought to determine whether gender or rank had an impact on the way that general surgery residents were evaluated by medical students in skill-independent areas such as integrity and honesty.
Methods: Data was extracted from 2323 medical student evaluations of general surgery residents at a single institution over five years. Scores from five evaluation questions relating to emotional intelligence, patient care, and professionalism were collected. Evaluation responses range from 1-10 for each question. Scores were compared between male and female residents and between PGY 1 and PGY 2-5 residents. Univariate analysis was performed.
Results: In our cohort of 2323 general surgery resident evaluations, 729 (31.4%) of the subjects were female and 1594 (68.6%) were male. 473 (20.4%) were PGY 1 and 1850 (79.6%) were PGY 2-5. Out of 10 possible points, median evaluation score ranged from 8.10-8.43 for the group. Median scores for female residents were as follows: 8.15, 8.26, 8.29, 8.04, 8.36. Median scores for male residents were: 8.39, 8.43, 8.42, 8.13, 8.46. Male residents received higher scores on all five questions related to emotional intelligence and professionalism (p <0.0003 for all questions). There was no statistically significant difference in scores between PGY 1 residents and PGY 2-5 residents.
Conclusion: When evaluated by medical students, female general surgery residents scored lower than male residents in areas relating to professionalism and psychosocial elements of patient care. Scores did not vary based on resident rank, suggesting that gender, rather than resident experience, influenced subjective evaluation. These data reflect the larger issue of gender bias in surgery. As the number of women in surgery continues to grow, further investigation is needed to better understand and draw attention to the inherent biases and expectations that females face in surgical specialties.