Abstract | November 8, 2021

An Online Investigation of Lay Resources Available to Female Medical Students Interested in Orthopaedic Surgery

Presenting Author: Gabrielle Owusu-Ansah, MS, MS4, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA

Coauthors: Julia Hana Silver, MPH, MS, Medical Student, 3rd Year, Tulane University School of Medicine, LA, New Orleans, LA; Tolulope Ramos, BS, MS4, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA; Gabrielle Owusu-Ansah, MS, MS3, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA; Mary Mulcahey, MD, Director, Women's Sports Medicine Program, Associate Professor, Assistant Program Director, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA.

Learning Objectives

  1. Understand what online lay resources are available to female medical students interested in male-dominated specialties. 
  2. Characterize lay resources related to women in orthopaedics that are currently online and available to female medical students. 

Background: There is currently limited data on where female medical students obtain information on male-dominated surgical specialties, including orthopaedics. Women currently comprise 14% of orthopaedic residents and 7% of practicing orthopaedic surgeons. Online resources may shape students’ perceptions of specialty-specific culture. This study assessed the content and type of online resources related to women in orthopaedics currently available to female medical students. 

Methods: An online search was conducted through Google and Yahoo between January-March 2019. Sources were included if they were on the first three pages of each database and excluded if they were an advertisement, repeated result, or scientific journal article. Authorship, content, and resource type were all evaluated. 

Results: 34 unique websites on Google and Yahoo related to women in orthopaedics were identified. Resources included blogs (8, 23.5%), forums (4, 11.7%), orthopaedic society articles (3, 8.8%), orthopaedic group websites (2, 5.9%), medical school websites (10, 29.4%), news articles (8, 23.5%), outreach programs (1, 2.9%), and a dissertation (1, 2.9%). Five core themes were identified: representation and mentorship, lifestyle, physical strength, stereotypical orthopaedic culture, and gender bias. Nearly all resources (32, 94.1%) discussed female representation and mentorship. 

Conclusion: Methods to increase female representation, lifestyle, and strength were discussed by the majority of resources identified in this study, similar to many key themes identified in the scientific literature. In an effort to increase diversity, orthopaedic residency programs, practices, and societies should consider expanding their online information related to women, especially regarding female representation and mentorship. 

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