ImportanceInterest in equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in medicine is growing, with women now making up 54% of Canadian physicians under the age of 40. Despite this, women in surgery remain underrepresented, facing challenges such as professional isolation. In response, a Women in Surgery in (WISE) Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) group was created to foster EDI. This is the first journal club of its kind described in the literature.ObjectiveOur objective was to describe the creation and program evaluation of a WISE group.Design(1) Setting and Intervention: A quarterly journal club meeting was created in a hybrid format to discuss peer-reviewed articles on EDI. Grant funding was obtained from a physician association's wellness budget. (2) Participants: Responses were from members of a Canadian University's otolaryngology mailing list attending these sessions. There were multiple responses from some of the same individuals across the 7 meetings. (3) Outcome Measures: An anonymous web-based survey with Likert-style questions was administered to participants 1 week after each session. General self-efficacy scale (GSES) was also administered. Moore's pyramid of effectiveness in continuing medical education was used as a framework for program evaluation.ResultsEighty-two responses to the survey were collected over 7 meetings. Among the 75 who responded to the gender identification question, 57 (76%) identified as women and 18 (24%) identified as men. Responses included 38 (46%) attendings, 8 (10%) fellows, 29 (35%) residents, and 7 (9%) medical students. Ninety percent of the responses "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that the group promoted collegiality, 82% of the responses "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that the group supported the participants' well-being, and 89% of the responses "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that the group provided a safe environment for discussion. The responses showed that the initiative was rated as outstanding by 48% and above average by 46%. From the responses, the GSES was high at 31.0 ± 4.3.ConclusionsA WISE group has been created and highly rated. This initiative represents one step of the university's ENT division's commitment to EDI.
Keywords: diversity; equity; gender disparities; inclusion (EDI) in healthcare; women in surgery.