Program directors' perception of pregnancy and parenthood in orthopedic surgery residency

Abstract

Orthopedic surgery has one of the lowest percentages of women of all medical specialties. The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of pregnancy and parenthood during orthopedic surgery residency among program directors. An anonymous survey was distributed to all program directors who were members of the American Orthopaedic Association's Council of Orthopaedic Residency Directors. Twenty-six (53%) of 49 male program directors believed that pregnancy and parenthood negatively affected female residents' scholarly activities (P=.02), whereas 10 (83%) of 12 female program directors believed that it had no effect. Significantly more program directors believed that pregnancy and parenthood imposed a burden on fellow trainees for female residents than for male residents (77% vs 45.9%, respectively; P=.0004). This study demonstrated that orthopedic residency program directors perceive the effects of pregnancy and parenthood more negatively for female residents, especially related to scholarly activities and the burden placed on fellow residents.