In Dean’s article, current trainees and the vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons describe shift work, busy posts, early starts, and frequent rotations as factors that disadvantage surgeons who are parents.1 But these factors are common to all acute specialties, many of which also happen to have a more gender balanced workforce and fewer issues supporting new parents in the workplace. The article also emphasises the negative aspects of less than full time training in surgery, without reference to how it has been both beneficial and empowering in many other hospital specialties.There is clearly something else at play here, and anecdotally I suspect it is strongly related to workplace surgical culture. This consists of an insidious “boys’ club” mentality, deeply ingrained perceptions about what a surgeon will look and sound like, expectations of working beyond paid hours to prove your commitment, negative associations with working less than full…
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