Correlations Between Department and Training Program Online Presence and Women in Orthopedic Surgery Training.

Background: Orthopedic residency programs increasingly use websites and social media to reach students. This accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as away rotations became limited. Women remain a minority of orthopedic residents, and there are no data that indicate the correlation between department/program website content or social media presence on the gender diversity of residency classes. Methods: Orthopedic department websites were assessed between June 2021 and January 2022 to identify program director's gender, as well as the gender composition of the faculty and residents. Instagram presence for the department and/or program was also identified. Results: There was no correlation found between the residency program director's gender and the gender diversity of residents in a given program. The percentage of women faculty identified on a department website was significantly correlated with the percentage of women residents in the program, regardless of the program director's gender. While there was an increase in the percentage of women residents among programs with Instagram accounts for the class that started in 2021, this was negated when the percentage of women faculty was taken into account. Conclusion: Efforts on multiple fronts will be needed to increase the number and percentage of women applying for and training in orthopedic surgery. Given the increasing use of digital media, we need a better understanding of what information, including faculty gender diversity, can be conveyed through this format that is useful for women medical students interested in orthopedic surgery to address their concerns about the field.

Teaching During the COVID- 19 Pandemic: MHSA Faculty Experiences

In the Spring of 2020, faculty in our Master of Health Services Administration (MHSA) program were required to pivot to fully online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty in our program are a mix of full-time academic and practitioner faculty, and our program is part of Kansas's only academic medical center. Using a qualitative descriptive design, this paper reports on findings from in-depth semi-structured interviews with all faculty (n=12) teaching during the Spring 2020 semester to understand their experiences as educators during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts yielded three key areas of COVID-19 impact: (1) course logistics and communication, (2) faculty capacity and identity, and (3) the future of both healthcare and health administration education. Faculty reported increasing communication with students and encountering some logistical difficulties, but overall, they adapted to the online modality. Faculty also reported the necessity to learn from the COVID-19 crisis to address healthcare gaps, elucidate key course concepts, and better train healthcare administrators to be competent in handling rapid change and disruptive events.

Is Rural Kansas Prepared? An Assessment of Resources Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: This cross-sectional study investigated rural Kansas healthcare resources relevant to COVID-19 at the county level in the context of population characteristics. METHODS: The federal Area Health Resource File was used to assess system capacity and critical care-related resources and COVID-19-related risk factors at the county level. Data were described with summary statistics, cross-tabulations, and bivariate tests to discern differences across county rurality categories (2013 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes). RESULTS: Kansas has 105 counties. Metropolitan counties had an average of 1.5 physicians (M.D. or D.O., any specialty) per 1,000 people, while rural counties had 0.8. A total of 63.5% of rural counties had no anesthesia providers and 100.0% of rural counties had no pulmonary disease physicians. While 96 counties have at least one hospital, nearly 90% rural counties had no intensive care unit (ICU) services. The percent of the population estimated to be over 65 was higher among rural counties (24.2%) than metropolitan counties (19.3%). On average, rural counties had nearly twice as many deaths per 1,000 people by cardiovascular disease and more chronic obstructive pulmonary disease deaths than metropolitan and nonmetropolitan/urban adjacent counties. CONCLUSIONS: Kansas faced limited ICU capabilities and physician workforce shortages in rural counties, both in primary care and specialties such as anesthesia and pulmonology. In addition, nonmetropolitan/urban adjacent and rural population age structures and mortality rates potentially demonstrated an increased risk to overwhelm local healthcare systems. This may have serious implications for rural health, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

US Rural Surgeons Leading During COVID-19: Where Are They Now?

Rural surgeons from disparate areas of the United States report on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in their communities as the virus has spread across the country. The pandemic has brought significant changes to the professional, economic, and social lives of the individual surgeons and their communities.

US Rural Surgeon Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Leadership in a Time of Crisis.

Nine surgeons from rural and remote communities in the United States share early experiences preparing for the COVID-19 pandemic. Relating experiences remarkably different from health care providers in urban areas in America most affected by the first stages of the outbreak, they tell the challenges of organizing resources in facilities already struggling with poverty-stricken communities far from established health care resources and supplies. From Alaska to Appalachia and the Navajo Nation to the rural midwest, they show the leadership and professionalism that exemplify rural surgery.