Current Gender Diversity and Geographic Trends Among Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Surgeons in the United States

Abstract

Background: Female representation varies geographically among orthopaedic residency programs, with the southern region of the United States reported as having relatively lower rates of female orthopaedic surgeons. Purpose: To determine the gender and geographic distributions of US-based orthopaedic sports medicine surgeons and analyze geographic patterns between their training locations and present-day practices. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: American Orthopedic Society of Sports Medicine (AOSSM) fellowship completion data from the 2016-2021 academic years were analyzed with regard to gender and fellowship location. Medical school, residency, and current practice locations were obtained via internet searches for all individuals identified within the databases. Locations were categorized into regions based on the US Census Bureau definitions. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed on the data. Results: A total of 1268 sports orthopaedic surgeons who graduated fellowship from 2016 to 2021 were analyzed: 141 (11%) were female and 1127 (89%) were male. The percentage of female sports medicine surgeons in fellowship remained constant (11%-12%) from 2016 to 2021. On average, the annual percentage of female orthopaedic sports medicine fellows was 7.2% in the South, 10.4% in the West, 14.2% in the Midwest, and 14.7% in the Northeast. Based on the orthopaedic sports medicine fellowship graduates from 2016 to 2021, the mean percentage of current female orthopaedic sports medicine surgeons in practice was 7.4% in the South, 11.7% in the Northeast, 12.8% in the Midwest, and 14.4% in the West. Conclusion: Approximately 11% of our sample was female; however, this percentage varied heavily by region, with the southern region having significantly lower rates of gender diversity.

Diversity Within the Field of Orthopedic Sports Medicine

“…Overall, orthopedic sports medicine had the most female applicants; however, the proportion of females in the applicant pool was third highest at 9.1% (n = 94), with pediatrics being the highest at 24.8% (n = 79). One additional study by Kocjan et al 27 used American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine (AOSSM) completion data to extract the demographics of orthopedic sports medicine fellowship graduates from 2016 to 2021 and found that females comprised 11% (n = 141) of the graduates. Most recent data collected by Lavorgna et al 28 from the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA) fellowship directory states gender of orthopedic sports medicine fellows in the 2021-2022 academic year included 14.4% (n = 19) females.…”

Gender Diversity in Sports Medicine: Current Trends

“…Studies have shown that the 3 greatest influencers of subspecialty choice are enjoyment of procedures, proficiency in related surgical skills, and overall experiences with that field during residency program training. 35 , 36 , 37 Comparatively, mentorship plays less of a role in specialty selection, with only 21% of respondents to a survey of female fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeons citing this as a significant impactor. However, it is true that mentorship is the primary modifiable factor in the decision-making process.…”