Characterization of Women Peripheral Nerve Specialists in the Academic Neurosurgery Workforce

Introduction: While the prevalence of women within neurosurgery has grown, there is still a distinct lack of representation. The field at large has trended towards subspecialization through fellowship, especially within academia. The pathway to peripheral nerve specialization requires one year of fellowship training after residency, and involves the treatment of disorders like peripheral neuropathies, tumors, injuries, or pain. This study aims to evaluate women peripheral nerve specialists within the academic neurosurgery workforce in the United States.

Methods: A demographic analysis was performed in June 2024 to study women neurosurgeons on faculty at ACGME-accredited residency programs across the United States. The data was retrieved from publicly available sources such as national databases and departmental websites. Scopus h-index and document number, Relative Citation Ratios (RCR), and American Medical Association (AMA) regional designations were determined, and data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results: 220 women neurosurgeons affiliated with 93 residency programs were identified, of whom 7 (3.24%) subspecialize in peripheral nerve surgery. The geographic distribution of these surgeons is as follows: region 1/West included 4 neurosurgeons (57.14%), 7/Northeast included 2 neurosurgeons (28.57%), and 6/Mid-atlantic included 1 neurosurgeons (14.29%). Average scopus h-index for women peripheral nerve surgeons was 15.29 with an average of 58.71 scopus documents. Mean RCR was 2.31 and mean weighted RCR was 102.39. None of the surgeons in this cohort were found to have a postdoctoral degree, compared to 14.81% of all women neurosurgeons at academic institutions. Four of the seven neurosurgeons dual-subspecialize, with 2 in pediatrics, 1 in spine, and 1 in trauma and critical care.

Conclusion : Peripheral nerve surgery contains the smallest number and percentage of women compared to all other neurosurgical subspecialties. Further study is necessary to understand the contributing factors to gender discrepancies and promote diversity within this field.