Evaluating Differences in Case Volume During Orthopedic Surgery Residency by Gender and Race: A Single-Institution Study.
Academic Article
Overview
abstract
BACKGROUND: Gaining operative proficiency requires adequate case volume during orthopedic residency training. Numerous surgical fields have demonstrated that male residents report higher case volume than female residents. In general surgery, racially/ethnically underrepresented in medicine residents report lower case volume than White residents. PURPOSE: We sought to evaluate differences in case volume between male and female orthopedic surgery residents and between White residents and those of other races and ethnicities at a single orthopedic residency. METHODS: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education case logs were reviewed for orthopedic residents from 2010 to 2023 at a single institution. Overall residency case volume and volume by post-graduate year (PGY) were compared between men and women and between White and "other race" residents. RESULTS: Of 111 residents included, 80.2% self-reported as men, 19.8% as women, 61.3% as White, non-Hispanic, and 32.4% as any other race (for 6.3%, race/ethnicity was unavailable). Overall, women logged a mean of 1865.6 cases while men logged a mean of 1861.0 cases, showing no difference based on gender. At the PGY-4 level, women logged more cases than men, with a mean of 430.3 for women versus 370.0 for men. There was no difference in overall case volume between White residents and those of "other" race/ethnicity, nor were there race/ethnicity-based differences by PGY level. CONCLUSION: In contrast to prior studies, our retrospective single-institution review found no difference in overall case volume for orthopedic residents based on their self-reported gender or race/ethnicity. Institutions and the specialty at large should continue to create equitable surgical opportunities for orthopedic trainees, while future research should assess autonomy within cases.
