Operating in the margins: Women’s lived experience of training and working in orthopaedic surgery in South Africa
Medicine in South Africa (SA), as in other parts of the world, is becoming an increasingly gender diverse profession, yet orthopaedic surgery continues to be dominated by men, with women constituting approximately 5% of the profession in SA. The aim of this descriptive qualitative study was to expl...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Qualitative Research in Medicine & Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://pagepressjournals.org/index.php/qrmh/article/view/10902 |
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| author | Marí Thiart Megan O’Connor Jana Müller Nuhaa Holland Jason Bantjies |
| author_facet | Marí Thiart Megan O’Connor Jana Müller Nuhaa Holland Jason Bantjies |
| author_sort | Marí Thiart |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Medicine in South Africa (SA), as in other parts of the world, is becoming an increasingly gender diverse profession, yet orthopaedic surgery continues to be dominated by men, with women constituting approximately 5% of the profession in SA. The aim of this descriptive qualitative study was to explore women’s experiences of training and working as orthopaedic surgeons in SA and identify structures, practices, attitudes, and ideologies that may promote or impede the inclusion of women. Data were collected via focus group discussions with women orthopaedic surgeons (n=16). Grounded in phenomenology, data were analysed using thematic analysis following a data-driven inductive approach to making sense of participants’ experiences. Five main themes emerged: i) dynamic working environments and the work of transformation; ii) negotiating competing roles of mother and surgeon; iii) belonging, exclusion and internalised sexism; iv) gaslighting and silencing; and v) acts of resistance – agency and pushing back. The findings highlight the dynamic process in which both men and women contribute to co-creating, re-producing, and challenging practices that make medicine more inclusive.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b49e770558fe49d0b2a14e3efd053657 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2532-2044 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Qualitative Research in Medicine & Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj-art-b49e770558fe49d0b2a14e3efd0536572025-08-20T02:54:40ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Qualitative Research in Medicine & Healthcare2532-20442023-04-017110.4081/qrmh.2023.10902Operating in the margins: Women’s lived experience of training and working in orthopaedic surgery in South AfricaMarí Thiart0Megan O’Connor1Jana Müller2Nuhaa Holland3Jason Bantjies4Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Tygerberg, Stellenbosch UniversityDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-NatalUkwanda Centre for Rural Health, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch UniversityInstitute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch UniversityInstitute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University; Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town Medicine in South Africa (SA), as in other parts of the world, is becoming an increasingly gender diverse profession, yet orthopaedic surgery continues to be dominated by men, with women constituting approximately 5% of the profession in SA. The aim of this descriptive qualitative study was to explore women’s experiences of training and working as orthopaedic surgeons in SA and identify structures, practices, attitudes, and ideologies that may promote or impede the inclusion of women. Data were collected via focus group discussions with women orthopaedic surgeons (n=16). Grounded in phenomenology, data were analysed using thematic analysis following a data-driven inductive approach to making sense of participants’ experiences. Five main themes emerged: i) dynamic working environments and the work of transformation; ii) negotiating competing roles of mother and surgeon; iii) belonging, exclusion and internalised sexism; iv) gaslighting and silencing; and v) acts of resistance – agency and pushing back. The findings highlight the dynamic process in which both men and women contribute to co-creating, re-producing, and challenging practices that make medicine more inclusive. https://pagepressjournals.org/index.php/qrmh/article/view/10902Diversitymedical trainingSouth Africawomenorthopaedic surgery |
| spellingShingle | Marí Thiart Megan O’Connor Jana Müller Nuhaa Holland Jason Bantjies Operating in the margins: Women’s lived experience of training and working in orthopaedic surgery in South Africa Qualitative Research in Medicine & Healthcare Diversity medical training South Africa women orthopaedic surgery |
| title | Operating in the margins: Women’s lived experience of training and working in orthopaedic surgery in South Africa |
| title_full | Operating in the margins: Women’s lived experience of training and working in orthopaedic surgery in South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Operating in the margins: Women’s lived experience of training and working in orthopaedic surgery in South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Operating in the margins: Women’s lived experience of training and working in orthopaedic surgery in South Africa |
| title_short | Operating in the margins: Women’s lived experience of training and working in orthopaedic surgery in South Africa |
| title_sort | operating in the margins women s lived experience of training and working in orthopaedic surgery in south africa |
| topic | Diversity medical training South Africa women orthopaedic surgery |
| url | https://pagepressjournals.org/index.php/qrmh/article/view/10902 |
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