Navigating Pregnancy and Parenthood During Otolaryngology Training and Beyond (2023 AMW)
2023 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO Experience
In a recently published systematic review examining data surrounding pregnancy and surgical residency, it was noted that pregnant surgical residents experienced a high rate of obstetrical complications compared to the general population. Residency-related predictors of complications included (i) working more than 6 overnight call shifts, and (ii) working more than 60-hour weeks. In addition, the review identified a common theme across published literature: the prevalence of negative attitudes and perceptions toward pregnant residents despite data showing no difference in attrition, caseload, or exam pass rate compared to non-pregnant residents. Another study looking at pregnant female resident perspectives on pregnancy during surgical training showed that 39% of survey respondents strongly considered leaving surgical training and 29.5% of respondents stated they would discourage female medical students from pursuing a surgical specialty. Given both the lack of and the value of gender diversity in surgical fields, concerning findings like these must be explored. Ongoing discussions on how to counter-act the perceived stigmas related to pregnancy/motherhood and how to better support child-bearing residents/attendings are imperative to attracting and retaining female surgeons in our subspecialty. Please join Dr. Dana Crosby (Chair/PD at SIU), Dr. Tiffany Glazer (PD at UW-Madison), and Dr. Ebone Bady (PGY 4 at UMN) as we discuss the related challenges and possible solutions to overcoming those challenges, including a conversation regarding actionable steps and a proposed pregnancy protocol that departments can utilize to improve the safety of pregnant surgeons.
Credits
CME:1.0, MOC:1.0