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Cited by 7Diversity and Career in MedicineCareer Development and DiversitySex and Gender in Healthcare

Expanding the pipeline: exposure and female mentorship increase interest in orthopaedic surgery among female premedical undergraduate students

Open access
Bergstein, Victoria E., Schmerler, Jessica, Seidenstein, Alexandra H., LaPorte, Dawn M.·2024·JBJS Open Access
DOI 10.2106/jbjs.oa.24.00142PMC PMC11617347
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Abstract

Introduction: Orthopaedic surgery has the greatest degree of gender disparity among all medical specialties, presenting a little-explored opportunity to recruit women into orthopaedics early in the pipeline, particularly as undergraduate students. This study aimed to characterize the opinions of female premedical students regarding orthopaedic surgery as well as to assess the effectiveness of a virtual intervention in increasing interest in or improving attitudes toward the field. Methods: In this prospective study, recruitment emails were sent to premedical advisors, who then circulated a survey that solicited responses from female-identifying premedical students. The survey consisted of questions about demographics, Likert scale questions about opinions of orthopaedic surgery, and an open-response section. At the end of the survey, respondents were provided the option to register for a Zoom panel, in which 4 female physicians described their experiences as women in orthopaedic surgery. Survey responses were analyzed using unpaired t tests for continuous variables and analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc analysis for Likert scale responses. Results: A total of 259 female premedical students completed the survey. Respondents most strongly agreed with the statements “orthopaedics is a male-dominated field” and “I wish I learned more about orthopaedics in college.” Interest in pursuing orthopaedic surgery was greater among respondents who had undergone orthopaedic surgery, personally knew an orthopaedic surgeon, personally knew a female orthopaedic surgeon, or had shadowed in orthopaedic surgery. After attending the panel, attendees' interest in orthopaedic surgery significantly increased (p < 0.001), and attendees disagreed significantly more strongly with the notion that gender would limit their opportunities in orthopaedics (p = 0.013). Conclusion: Early exposure to orthopaedic surgery was consistently associated with increased interest among respondents. In addition, exposure to female orthopaedic surgeons was associated with more positive opinions of orthopaedics, and the mentorship intervention proved effective at increasing interest in the field. These results reinforce the need for targeted, early-exposure programs to recruit premedical women into orthopaedic surgery. Level of Evidence: Level IV . See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

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  • Programs targeting subspecialties can provide tailored information, preparation, and mentorship to foster interest tailored to a niche.

    “Programs targeting subspecialties can provide tailored information, preparation, and mentorship to foster interest tailored to a niche [5,8,11,18,24].”

    From Efficacy of Early Exposure Medical Programs for Underrepresented Students: A Systematic Review (2026) · cites this paper as [5]

  • Subspecialty panels can alleviate perceived barriers.

    “Following the panel, participants' interest in orthopedic surgery increased, and they were less likely to believe that gender would limit their opportunities, demonstrating the ability of subspecialty panels to alleviate perceived barriers [5].”

    From Efficacy of Early Exposure Medical Programs for Underrepresented Students: A Systematic Review (2026) · cites this paper as [5]

  • Following the panel, participants were less likely to believe that gender would limit their opportunities.

    “Following the panel, participants' interest in orthopedic surgery increased, and they were less likely to believe that gender would limit their opportunities, demonstrating the ability of subspecialty panels to alleviate perceived barriers [5].”

    From Efficacy of Early Exposure Medical Programs for Underrepresented Students: A Systematic Review (2026) · cites this paper as [5]

  • Following the panel, participants' interest in orthopedic surgery increased.

    “Following the panel, participants' interest in orthopedic surgery increased, and they were less likely to believe that gender would limit their opportunities, demonstrating the ability of subspecialty panels to alleviate perceived barriers [5].”

    From Efficacy of Early Exposure Medical Programs for Underrepresented Students: A Systematic Review (2026) · cites this paper as [5]

  • Interest in orthopedic surgery was greater among students who had connections to orthopedic surgeons, shadowed orthopedic surgery, or had undergone orthopedic surgery.

    “Interest in orthopedic surgery was greater among students who had connections to orthopedic surgeons, shadowed orthopedic surgery, or had undergone orthopedic surgery, highlighting the importance of prior connections and experience [5].”

    From Efficacy of Early Exposure Medical Programs for Underrepresented Students: A Systematic Review (2026) · cites this paper as [5]

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Research works printed but not linked: 24

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Cited by

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Authors
Bergstein, V. E., Schmerler, J., Seidenstein, A. H., & LaPorte, D. M.
Affiliations
Johns Hopkins University (US)
Corresponding author
LaPorte, Dawn M.
ORCID
Venue
JBJS Open Access
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2024-10
Volume
9
Issue
4
ISSN
2472-7245 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.2106/jbjs.oa.24.00142
PMC
PMC11617347
OpenAlex
W4405103174
Cited by
7
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 5
FWCI
4.03
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
correction (2025-01-01)
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • JBJS Open Access (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Diversity and Career in Medicine
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Career Development and Diversity
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Sex and Gender in Healthcare
Keywords
orthopedic surgery, gender disparities, women in medicine, medical workforce diversity, premedical students, early exposure, career interest, shadowing, gender stereotypes

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