AB061. SOH25_AB_089. Bridging the gap—a retrospective analysis evaluating gender performance in core surgical training in Ireland over a ten-year period
General Surgery II

AB061. SOH25_AB_089. Bridging the gap—a retrospective analysis evaluating gender performance in core surgical training in Ireland over a ten-year period

Maria Sullivan, Dara O’Keeffe, Kathleen Bennett

Department of Surgical Affairs, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

Background: Understanding gender disparities in surgical skills and promoting equity in surgical education have become critical areas of focus in the advancement of surgical training. Medical schools have now reached gender parity. The number of women entering surgical training programs is increasing however, women are still underrepresented in most surgical specialties. In the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) progress report 90% of surgeons and 93% of consultant surgeons were men in Ireland. Seminal research examining patient outcomes in over one million patients showed female surgeons had better results. Recognising the gender differences in surgical skills can inform the development of more effective and inclusive surgical training programs creating a surgical workforce that mirrors the population.

Methods: Assessment data was collected on Core Surgical Trainees between 2013 and 2023. The dataset included results from Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) which examined Operative Surgical Skills (OSS) and Human Factors (HF) and other work-based evaluations. Statistical analyses were performed using STATA. Effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to evaluate the magnitude of any observed differences.

Results: The analyses revealed no statistically significant gender differences in performance across all technical and non-technical assessments. No gender correlation was found between technical and non-technical skills examined in formal in-house exams or during work-based assessments.

Conclusions: This study affirms that gender does not substantially influence core surgical performance outcomes. By demonstrating that assessment results are not skewed by gender, these findings reinforce the necessity of a validated evaluation system and the promotion of equitable opportunities in surgical education.

Keywords: Core surgical training; gender equity; surgical assessments; surgical education; surgical performance

Acknowledgments

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Footnote

Funding: None.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/map-25-ab061
Cite this abstract as: Sullivan M, O’Keeffe D, Bennett K. AB061. SOH25_AB_089. Bridging the gap—a retrospective analysis evaluating gender performance in core surgical training in Ireland over a ten-year period. Mesentery Peritoneum 2025;9:AB061.

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