Can Mentorship Shatter the Glass Ceiling in Academic Microsurgery? A National Survey of Microsurgery Fellowship-Trained Women in Academia.

MedStar author(s):
Citation: Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. 2023 Apr 20PMID: 37075287Institution: MedStar Washington Hospital Center | Surgery/Plastic SurgeryDepartment: MedStar Georgetown University Hospital/MedStar Washington Hospital Center | Plastic Surgery ResidencyForm of publication: Journal ArticleMedline article type(s): Journal ArticleSubject headings: IN PROCESS -- NOT YET INDEXED | Year: 2023ISSN:
  • 0032-1052
Name of journal: Plastic and reconstructive surgeryAbstract: BACKGROUND: The "leaky pipeline" phenomenon has caused women to remain underrepresented at higher levels of academic plastic surgery. No study has considered the availability of mentorship within any subset of academic plastic surgery. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the current representation of women in academic microsurgery and to determine the impact of mentorship on career progression.CONCLUSION: Evidenced by female trainees being unable to find female mentors and low rates of mentorship at the attending level, there is currently not enough capacity to meet the demand for female mentorship by women pursuing academic microsurgery. Many individual and structural barriers to quality mentorship and sponsorship exist within this field. Copyright � 2023 by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.METHODS: An electronic survey was designed to determine the availability and quality of mentorship respondents received at different stages of their career (from medical student to attending). The survey was distributed to women who completed a microsurgery fellowship and were current faculty at an academic plastic surgery program.RESULTS: Twenty-seven of 48 survey recipients participated (56.3% response rate). Most held an associate professor (20.0%) or assistant professor (40.0%) position. Respondents had an average of 4.1 + 2.3 mentors throughout their entire training. A minority of mentors were microsurgery-trained (28.3%) and only 29.2% of respondents reported female mentorship throughout their training. Attendings least often received formative mentorship (52.0%). Fifty percent of respondents sought female mentors, citing that they desired female insight. Of those who did not seek female mentors, 72.7% cited a lack of access to female mentors.All authors: Abdou SA, Charipova K, Evans KK, Fan KL, Sayyed AA, Sharif-Askary B, Song DHFiscal year: FY2023Digital Object Identifier: Date added to catalog: 2023-06-28
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Journal Article MedStar Authors Catalog Article 37075287 Available 37075287

BACKGROUND: The "leaky pipeline" phenomenon has caused women to remain underrepresented at higher levels of academic plastic surgery. No study has considered the availability of mentorship within any subset of academic plastic surgery. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the current representation of women in academic microsurgery and to determine the impact of mentorship on career progression.

CONCLUSION: Evidenced by female trainees being unable to find female mentors and low rates of mentorship at the attending level, there is currently not enough capacity to meet the demand for female mentorship by women pursuing academic microsurgery. Many individual and structural barriers to quality mentorship and sponsorship exist within this field. Copyright � 2023 by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

METHODS: An electronic survey was designed to determine the availability and quality of mentorship respondents received at different stages of their career (from medical student to attending). The survey was distributed to women who completed a microsurgery fellowship and were current faculty at an academic plastic surgery program.

RESULTS: Twenty-seven of 48 survey recipients participated (56.3% response rate). Most held an associate professor (20.0%) or assistant professor (40.0%) position. Respondents had an average of 4.1 + 2.3 mentors throughout their entire training. A minority of mentors were microsurgery-trained (28.3%) and only 29.2% of respondents reported female mentorship throughout their training. Attendings least often received formative mentorship (52.0%). Fifty percent of respondents sought female mentors, citing that they desired female insight. Of those who did not seek female mentors, 72.7% cited a lack of access to female mentors.

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