Women medical students' ratings of the required surgery clerkship: implications for career choice.

This study examined the ratings of their required surgery clerkship by 150 women and 202 men students. The authors hypothesize that a positive, highly rated curricular experience will have a statistically significant relationship to performance in surgery and to selection of that specialty for further training. Women students rated 12 of the 15 aspects of the clerkship and the overall evaluation lower than their male peers did. Men students scored significantly above the women on objective examinations, but women were rated significantly higher than the men on the clerkship, and there was no significant difference in their performance as first-year residents. The women who entered surgery residencies (half as many women as men) rated the clerkship higher than the women who entered other specialties. Recognizing that experiences on a clerkship are but one influence on a student's eventual specialty choice, the authors nonetheless conclude that more women would select careers in surgery if their initial contact with the specialty provided more relevant work, more patient responsibilities, and more skill development, all conveyed with a more positive staff attitude.