Having at least a third of women in the operating room is associated with a significantly reduced risk of serious complications for the patient, a new study shows.
This demonstrates that the presence of women in the operating room is not a simple question of equity, but that it actually concerns the well-being of patients, underlined the author of the study, the Dr. Julie Hallet from the University of Toronto.
“What we are bringing here is to say that it is more than social justice and equity, we are talking about performance,” she said. It is important to have diversity within teams to perform better and provide better patient care. So it’s not necessarily the ethical thing to do, it’s the right thing to do to have the best possible care. »
Dr. Hallet and her colleagues examined approximately 710,000 surgical procedures performed in 88 Ontario hospitals between 2009 and 2019. They found that, within 90 days of the procedure, serious complications up to death occurred. occurred in 14.4% of cases.
However, in hospitals where there were at least a third of female surgeons and anesthetists, the risk of serious post-surgical morbidity in the 90 days following surgery fell by 3%.
Such an improvement is obviously beneficial for patients, emphasized Dr. Hallet, but also for the health system as a whole.
The study authors note that other research in the United States, Australia, Italy and Japan also found better patient outcomes in hospitals where surgical teams were at least 35% female. .
“The 35% is a bit like what we call a critical mass,” said Dr. Hallet. That is to say, if we want to implement diversity in a team by having only one or two people who represent a minority, often it will not have an effect until we have reached critical mass. . These individuals won’t necessarily be able to bring their unique perspectives to the table because they don’t feel like they have the space to do so. »
In other words, a woman who finds herself alone in the company of male colleagues in an operating room will not have the same impact as a small group of three or four women within a team of ten of people. “It is much more difficult to assert your point of view or different perspectives when you are alone than when you have allies around,” emphasized Dr. Hallet.
The aim of the study, she added, was to go beyond the simple “binary” comparison that is too often made between the performance of male surgeons and that of female surgeons.
Rather, the study authors believe that a diverse surgical team of men and women is beneficial for patients because each brings different skills, knowledge, values, leadership styles and attitudes.
“We sometimes talk about a “diversity bonus,” said Dr. Hallet. When you have several perspectives that work together, there is added value. »
However, the number of female surgeons and anesthetists has only increased by 5% over the past ten years.
“Despite the fact that there are 50% of medical students, we do not see 50% of these students who will become bosses […] in surgery, concluded Dr. Hallet. So, that is to say that even if we know at a social level that this is something that we must improve, it is not happening yet. So we really wanted to add a little grist to the mill with this data. »
The findings of this study were published by the British Journal of Surgery.