Academic and Demographic Characteristics of Pediatric Orthopaedic Division Chiefs in the United States

Abstract

Introduction: Division Chiefs (DCs) and department leadership play an integral role within the service. The goal of this study is to assess the demographics and scholarly work of the leadership in pediatric orthopaedics services across the United States and comment on the role of diversity within leadership positions.

Methods: Academic medical centers and pediatric hospitals were identified using the Electronic Residency Application Service website, the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America website, and the Children's Hospital Association website. Leadership was identified using the hospitals' respective websites where data such as sex, race/ethnicity, fellowship institution, time since graduating fellowship, and academic rank were collected. Scopus database was used to determine h-indices and PubMed was used to determine the number of publications.

Results: Of 196 academic centers and 223 pediatric hospitals identified, 98 had a designated DC of the pediatric orthopaedics division. The majority of the DCs were male (85.7%), and leadership positions at hospitals with academic affiliations had a higher proportion of female DCs than nonacademic centers ( P =0.0317). DCs were mostly white (83.7%), followed by Asian (12.2%), and African American (2.0%). The average time since fellowship was 21.1 years and the average h-index was 15.7. The average age of the DCs was 56.8 years old. Of those in academic settings, 48.5% held the rank of professor. The fellowship programs that trained the most DCs were Boston Children's Hospital (16.3%) and Texas Scottish Rite for Children (14.3%).

Discussion: There is a paucity of available research on leadership characteristics in pediatric orthopaedic surgery. While progress has been made, there is still a lack of diversity that exists among leadership in pediatric orthopaedics, both within the academic setting as well as the private sector. The position of DC is held predominately by white males with a rank of either professor or no academic association. Intentional efforts are needed to continue to increase diversity in leadership positions within pediatric orthopaedic programs in the United States.

Level of evidence: IV.