Status of women in congenital heart surgery: Results from a national survey.
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg
; 164(6): e513-e522, 2022 12.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34895726
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Gender disparity in cardiothoracic surgery, but not specifically in congenital heart surgery, has been a growing focus. The aim of this study was to describe the experiences related to gender for women in this field.METHODS:
This cross-sectional survey was designed to assess gender perception in 5 domains training, professional career, clinical practice, personal life, and career outlook. Inclusion criteria were women who trained and are practicing congenital heart surgery in the United States.RESULTS:
Eighteen women were identified with a survey response rate of 94% (17/18). The majority of respondents were aged more than 40 years (94%) and White (69%), chose their career in congenital heart surgery during residency (77%), and completed more than 10 years of postgraduate education (56%). More than half were discouraged from congenital heart surgery because of their gender and reported its negative impact on their ability to obtain their first job. The need to "outperform" their male colleagues was nearly universal (94%), and gender pay disparity was reported by 81%. The majority (65%) reported sexual harassment both during surgical training and as staff surgeons.CONCLUSIONS:
This survey highlights many areas (discouragement due to gender, sexual harassment, and gender disparities in pay and leadership opportunities) that women may perceive as barriers to a successful career in congenital heart surgery. There is an increasing call to action to mitigate these hurdles for women, both to enter and succeed. It is encouraging that the women surveyed would repeat their career choice and are actively mentoring other women to join this field.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Physicians, Women
/
Sexual Harassment
/
Heart Defects, Congenital
/
Internship and Residency
Type of study:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
Language:
En
Journal:
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article