• Ellen Kroin, Dana Garbarski, Aoi Shimomura, Joseph Romano, Adam Schiff, and Karen Wu.
• J Grad Med Educ. 2019 Oct 1; 11 (5): 565-569.

BackgroundDespite specialty-driven efforts to improve diversity in the field, few women apply to orthopaedic residency, and women are unevenly distributed among programs. There is little evidence-based information on factors that may attract female applicants.ObjectiveThis study aims to identify factors important to applicants when evaluating orthopaedic residency programs and to identify gender-specific differences.MethodsAll applicants to a single orthopaedic surgery residency program in the 2017 Match were asked to fill out an anonymous survey. Respondents rated the importance of 35 factors when evaluating orthopaedic residency programs. The percentage of highly rated factors was calculated. Statistical analysis was performed for each factor to assess differences by gender.ResultsOf 1013 applicants who applied to orthopaedic surgery residency in 2017, 815 (80%) applied to our program, and 218 (27%) completed the survey. The most important factors when evaluating a residency program for both genders were (1) perceptions of current residents; (2) interactions with members of the program; (3) program reputation and fellowship placement; (4) geographic location; and (5) impressions after rotation at a program. Female applicants rated the presence of female and minority residents and faculty and program reputation for gender and racial/ethnic diversity higher than male applicants.ConclusionsWhen choosing an orthopaedic surgery residency program, women more often reported the presence of female residents and faculty, program reputation for gender diversity, reputation for racial/ethnic diversity, presence of minority residents and faculty, and their personal interactions with members of the program as important factors.Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education 2019.

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