Women in Orthopedics and their Fellowship Choice: What Influenced their Specialty Choice?

Background: Female orthopedic surgeons have different life choices, experiences, and influences that may alter their decisions when choosing a fellowship. There is no data that describes why women choose their specialty and if it is related to their mentorship, athletic background, family, family planning, physical attributes needed, location, practice setting, or discrimination.After a five year orthopedic residency, what influences their specialty choice to work in a specific field?Questions/ purposes: To understand why women in orthopedics chose a certain fellowship and if they are influenced by any specific factor.
Methods: A 28 question survey created through SurveyMonkey was emailed to all members of the Ruth Jackson Orthopedic Society (RJOS) in July 2019. After six weeks the survey was closed and data was analyzed through SurveyMonkey.
Results: 252 members of RJOS completed the 28 question survey. 94% of the women who responded did a fellowship after their orthopedic residency. 62% chose their fellowship specialty based on pure enjoyment. 79% were not influenced by a female role model, 92% were not influenced by a significant other, 85% were not influenced by wanting children or a family, and 96% were not influenced by being pregnant or planning on being pregnant. 64% were not influenced by physical attributes or perception of strength needed for the specialty. Conclusions: 94% of the women who responded did a fellowship after their orthopedic residency and 62% chose their fellowship specialty based on pure enjoyment. It was not found that female mentorship, family, pregnancy, significant other, or physical attributes contributed to their fellowship choice.Level of Evidence: V.