Women Empowering Women: Assessing the American College of Surgeons Women in Surgery Committee Mentorship Program.

BACKGROUND: Mentorship is an important factor for career promotion and professional development. The Women in Surgery Committee developed a mentorship program that matched early career female surgeons to senior female surgeons for 1 year. We hypothesized participation in the program would empower junior surgeons by providing opportunities to network and hone skills necessary to attain their career goals. METHODS: Survey was sent 4 to 6 weeks after program completion. Statements about mentorship and value of the Women in Surgery Committee program were ranked on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). Participants were compared based on frequency of encounters using Student's t-test. RESULTS: A total of 105 pairs were identified; response rate was 60%. Results reported as (mean ± SD). Participants believed mentorship was essential for young surgeons (4.5 ± 1.0), and limiting the program to female surgeons added value (4.4 ± 0.6). When compared with mentees who met less than 4 times in a year, those who met 4 or more times perceived the program as beneficial (4.4 ± 0.82, p < 0.001). Mentees who met 4 or more times in a year benefitted from creating and achieving goals (4.3 ± 0.75, p < 0.001), setting expectations (4.5 ± 0.6, p < 0.001), providing networking opportunities (4.1 ± 1.1, p < 0.05), and developing professional skills (3.9 ± 0.98). CONCLUSION: The Women in Surgery Committee Mentorship Program provides an opportunity for young female surgeons; however, perceived benefit is dependent on mentee engagement.

The trabecular effect: A population-based longitudinal study on age and sex differences in bone mineral density and vertebral load bearing capacity.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 16-24% of postmenopausal women are affected by vertebral fractures, negatively affecting their quality of life. Trabecular and cortical bones in vertebrae decline differently with age, thus having a distinct impact on vertebral failure loads. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of trabecular and cortical volumetric bone mineral density loss over time on estimated failure loads; and to evaluate the effect of sex and age. METHOD: Fracture properties from a cohort of 82 patients were evaluated for L1-L3 vertebrae at baseline and 6th year using an image-based method that implements axial rigidity analysis. Cortical and trabecular volumetric bone mineral density were obtained, as well as their individual contribution to total failure load. Regression analyses were performed to determine the effect of age and sex on volumetric bone mineral density and failure loads. FINDINGS: Decline in trabecular and cortical volumetric bone mineral density, and failure load was sex-dependent (p ≤ 0.0095). Cortical and trabecular volumetric bone mineral density reduced 2.08 (g/cm3)/year and 2.02 (g/cm3)/year, respectively. A 1012 N difference in failure load, ~70% attributed to trabecular bone, was found between men and women of similar age. Over 6 years, this difference increased by 287 N. Areal bone mineral density measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry explained ~60% of the vertebral failure load. INTERPRETATION: Trabecular bone has a significantly greater effect than cortical bone on the structural integrity and load bearing capacity of vertebrae. This might lead to a higher incidence of fragility fractures in osteoporotic women. Our non-invasive, quantitative computed tomography image-based approach may improve prevention, monitoring, and management of fractures.