The confidence gap: Findings for women in plastic surgery

Background: In a surgical field, where surgeons are, “sometimes wrong, but never in doubt,” lack of confidence can have detrimental effects on career advancement. In other fields there is evidence that a gap exists between women and men in the amount of confidence they display, and that confidence is a proxy for success. Methods: This study used the General Self Efficacy Scale and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale confidence surveys to assess self confidence amongst female trainees and attending plastic surgeons, to search for baseline characteristics associated with higher confidence scores. Results: Of the 73 participants, protective factors associated with increased female plastic surgeon confidence include age, parity, more advanced academic status, and mentorship. Conclusions: In order to matriculate into a surgical training program, there must be a measure of confidence and resiliency, but further work needs to be done to identify and address gender gaps in training and early academic careers.