LAUSR

BACKGROUND AND AIMS With an increasing number of women joining procedural fields including gastroenterology, optimizing the work environment for learning, teaching, and clinical practice is essential to the well-being of both physicians and their patients. We queried female and male gastroenterologists on their beliefs toward the endoscopy suite environment, as well as their experiences in learning and teaching endoscopic skills. METHODS We distributed a web-based survey to 403 gastroenterology fellows and practicing gastroenterologists at 12 academic institutions and 3 large private practices. We used univariate and multivariate analysis to compare responses of female and male gastroenterologists. RESULTS The overall response rate was 32% (n = 130), with 54 women and 61 men completing the survey in its entirety and included in analysis (15 respondents did not meet inclusion criteria). Baseline demographics were comparable between groups. Overall, fewer women than men were trained using tactile instruction (41% vs. 67%; p=0.004). Of those trained using tactile instruction, a majority (60.3%, with no gender differences) felt it was also important for endoscopic learning. More women reported experiencing gender bias toward themselves during training (57.4% vs 13.1%; p 0.001) as well as in their current careers (50.0% vs 9.8%; p 0.001). When queried on treatment of gastroenterologists by endoscopy staff, 75.9% of women reported that men were treated more favorably, whereas 70.5% of men felt that both male and female gastroenterologists were treated equally. CONCLUSIONS Inequities exist with regard to the experience of men and women in gastroenterology, and specific challenges for women may impact their career choices and ability to safely and effectively learn, teach, and practice endoscopy.