Upcoming female preponderance within surgery residents and the association of sex with the surgical career choice in the new millennium: results from a national survey in France

BackgroundWomen are increasingly entering the medical studies. We aim to investigate surgical residents' career decision making among surgical residents and to assess the presence of women.MethodsAn “electronic questionnaire” of self-assessment was distributed to the 2,500 current French surgical residents. Items analyzed included population characteristics, demographics, educational experiences, and choice of career.ResultsThere was a response rate of 31.2% (n = 779). The male/female ratio was 1.1 with 370 women (47.5%). The mean age was 28 ± 2 years. All surgical specialties were represented. Sex was significantly associated with the choice of surgical specialty (P < .05). Female residents had a shorter working time per week than male residents (P < .001). Sex was significantly linked with future career plans as female residents expected to work in a public hospital (P = .005) and as male residents expected to work in private practice (P = .001).ConclusionsFemale surgical residents are more populous than ever among surgical residents. Sex appears to be linked with where and how the residents expect to work in the future.