Gender Diversity and Academic Productivity Between Academic Orthopedic and Neurosurgical Spine Surgeons

Introduction: Spine surgeons train in the disciplines of orthopedic and neurological surgery, and it has been multiple years since the academic spine surgery workforce has been characterized. This study aims to provide an up-to-date characterization of the academic spine workforce, focusing on gender diversity and academic productivity.

Methods: A demographic analysis was conducted to evaluate spine orthopedic and neurological surgeons on faculty at ACGME-accredited residency programs. Data were collected in June 2024 from publicly available sources, including departmental websites and national databases. Scopus h-Indices were gathered, and programs were contacted for verification. Variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics and comparisons were performed using student’s t-test (p < 0.05) and Chi-Square Test of Independence.

Results: 1160 spine surgeons affiliated with 287 programs were identified; 524 (45%) were neurosurgeons and 636 (55%) were orthopedic surgeons. There was no significant difference (𝛘²(1)=1.1, p=0.29) in gender diversity between the disciplines, with women comprising 6.3% of the neurosurgical workforce and 4.9% of the orthopedic workforce. Neurosurgical spine surgeons were significantly (p=0.03) more academically productive than orthopedic spine surgeons with average h-indices of 18.2±16.0 and 15.9±17.5, respectively. A difference was also seen between male neurosurgical and orthopedic spine surgeons (p=0.02), with respective average h-indices of 18.6±16.4 and 16.1±17.7. However, no significant difference in academic productivity between female neurosurgical - 12.5±8.0 - and orthopedic spine surgeons - 11.6±13.3 - was observed (p=0.75).

Conclusion : There are significant differences in academic productivity between neurologic and orthopedic spine surgery faculty with the largest difference seen between male surgeons of the different specialties. Female neurosurgical and orthopedic spine surgeons are similarly academically productive.