Study Finds Shrinking Gender Gap in Surgical Training

A study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons finds that women are making progress in closing the gap with men in training for general surgery. The data shows that in the year 2000, women were 32 percent of all medical school graduates who entered general surgical training programs. By 2005 women made up 40 percent of all medical school graduates beginning training in general surgery.

During the 2000-05 period the percentage of women beginning surgical training also increased in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, urology, plastic surgery, ophthalmology and otolaryngology. By 2005, women were 82 percent of all medical school graduates entering obstetrics and gynecology surgical training programs.