Trends in interventional radiology show promise in narrowing the field's gender gap, with the number of women in the specialty doubling since 2015, according to an analysis published July 8 in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
"There is an increasing female constituency at the medical student, applicant, and resident levels with more than a doubling of female [interventional radiology] trainees, portending a continued reduction in the [interventional radiology] gender disparity in the future," wrote lead author Dr. Rupal Parikh of the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues.
Studies show gender disparity has been particularly dismal in interventional radiology, according to the authors. Female representation falls just below percentages in other procedural and surgical specialties, including vascular surgery (13.1% female), urology (8.7%), and neurosurgery (8.4%).
In 2012, however, the American Board of Medical Specialties approved a dual certificate in interventional radiology and diagnostic radiology, which shifted the applicant pool from diagnostic radiology alone, with a 26.2% female constituency, to medical students at large, with a 50.5% female constituency. In other words, the potential female applicant pool in interventional radiology has significantly increased, the authors wrote.
In this study, the researchers looked at changes in gender representation in the interventional radiology training pool since the launch of the integrated residency by performing an analysis of applicants and active residents and fellows.
The first integrated interventional radiology residency match was in 2016. The study authors analyzed residency application data for the integrated interventional radiology residency, vascular and interventional radiology (VIR) fellowship applicant data, and active interventional radiology resident and VIR fellow data. They also included 2018 membership data from the Society of Interventional Radiology.
In the 2015/2016 academic year, immediately before the advent of the integrated residency, female VIR fellows in training constituted just 8% of all interventional residency trainees. But that percentage reached 17% of all interventional radiology trainees (fellows plus residents) in the 2019/2020 academic year.
| Female representation among interventional radiology trainees | ||||||
| 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | |
| IR Residency Applications | Data unavailable | Data unavailable | 23% (247 of 1,062) | 19% (99 of 522) | 23% (102 of 452) | 24% (198 of 827) |
| Vascular and IR Fellows | 8% (23 of 275) | 16% (46 of 284) | 13% (39 of 290) | 11% (29 of 274) | 14% (35 of 256) | N/A |
| Integrated IR Residents | None | 15% (2 of 13) | 13% (8 of 60) | 18% (45 of 246) | 18% (78 of 424) | N/A |
| Total Female IR Trainees | 8% (23 of 275) | 16% (48 of 297) | 13% (47 of 350) | 14% (74 of 520) | 17% (113 of 680 | N/A |
The increase in representation by all female trainees from before the integrated interventional radiology residency to 2019/20 is significant, the authors wrote. However, the actual change from year to year is only in the range of a few percentage points and may not represent a significant increase in practice, they stated.
Ultimately, promoting gender diversity is important to enhancing value-based care, as recent studies have shown that patients under the care of a female physician live longer and have fewer readmissions, the authors wrote.
"This study demonstrates that concurrent with the advent of the integrated [interventional radiology] residency, there is an increasing female constituency, at the medical student, [interventional radiology] applicant, and [interventional radiology] resident levels, which in the coming years will expectantly narrow the gender gap in [interventional radiology], promote diversity, enhance patient care, and bolster the growth of the field," the researchers concluded.
