Work

High-Frequency Spinal Cord Stimulation in the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain from Traumatic Brachial Plexus Avulsion Injury: A Case Series

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: Introduction: Since 2017, more women than men have matriculated into medical school [1,2].However, evaluation of current physician workforce indicates that women are not fully represented.We sought to examine the distribution of male vs. female trainees and practicing pain physicians in the United States.Methods: This study was a cross-sectional analysis of the 2018-2019 Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) State Physician Database [3].Self-identified sex data was extracted and the percentage distribution of male vs. females was computed at various stages of training through the active physician workforce.Core specialties analyzed for pain medicine (CSPM) included anesthesiology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, emergency medicine, neurology, family medicine, and psychiatry.Analysis was completed using descriptive statistics with SAS software, version 9.4 (Cary, NC), with alpha of 0.05 for statistical significance. Results: The cross-sectional analysis of the 2018-2019 Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) StatePhysician Database generated a gender score card per state.States with the lowest representation of women in pain medicine included New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.Women represented 51.61% of medical school matriculants (N¼21,622), 80.93% of CSPM trainees (N¼20,625), 22.44% of pain fellows (N¼361) and 19.35% of practicing pain physicians (N¼5241).The Chisquare statistic with Yates correction was 124.2, p <0.0001 indicating significant differences in distribution of men vs. women in pain medicine training and the active physician workforce.Conclusion: This data underscores the need to improve gender diversity in pain management specialties.Despite an increase in matriculation rates of women in medical school and pain medicine core specialties, women remain underrepresented in the pain physician workforce.States with the lowest representation have more work to do to promote equal representation in pain and spine medicine.Further research is needed to identify the underlying reasons for underrepresentation of women among pain physicians.References: 1.More Women Than Men Enrolled in U.S. Medical Schools in 2017.AAMC.https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/press-releases/more-women-men-enrolled-us-medical-schools-2017.

Source: Interventional Pain Medicine

DOI: 10.1016/j.inpm.2022.100052

Authors: Joshua M. Romero, Keith A. Bengtson, Alexander Y. Shin, Allen T. Bishop, Christine L. Hunt

Institution: Mayo Clinic

Language: English

Topic: Pain Management and Treatment

Subfield: Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities, Gender equality

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,400