Where is the leak in the surgeon pipeline?
INTRODUCTION
In order to care for an increasingly diverse population, the surgical workforce must improve in gender, racial, and ethnic diversity. We aim to identify deficiencies in the surgical pipeline.


METHODS
Data from the United States Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Association of American Medical Colleges were collected from 2004 to 2018, and evaluated for changing population over time.


RESULTS
Women comprise 51% of the population, 32% of surgeons, and representation is increasing at a rate of 0.4% per year. 13% of the population and 6% of surgeons are black, and representation is decreasing at a rate of -0.1% per year. Hispanics represent 18% of the population, 6% of surgeons, and representation is increasing at a rate of 0.04% per year.


CONCLUSIONS
While the proportion of women and Hispanic surgeons is slowly increasing, the proportion of black surgeons is decreasing. Recruitment methods need to be focused to improve surgical workforce diversity.
['Bingmer|Katherine|K|', 'Ofshteyn|Asya|A|', 'Bliggenstorfer|Jonathan T|JT|', 'Steinhagen|Emily|E|', 'Stein|Sharon L|SL|']
D016208:Databases, Factual D005260:Female D006280:Health Workforce D006801:Humans D008297:Male D010822:Physicians, Women D011157:Population Dynamics D044469:Racial Groups D017678:Sex Distribution D066231:Surgeons D014481:United States
Pipeline Diversity Representation Surgery