Harassment in Residency: An Anonymous Survey of Podiatry Residents.

Abstract

Sexual discrimination and harassment have been shown to be a major problem in many industries in the United States, including entertainment, academia, and professional sports. Within the field of medicine, however, evidence regarding sexual discrimination and harassment is limited. Information focused on residents - particularly those in the surgical realm and during a crucial time of their career - is even more sparse. The primary goal of our research was to evaluate the prevalence of sexual harassment and discrimination among podiatric residents in the United States. We found high rates of sexual harassment and discrimination in our sampled pool. Based on our results, sexual harassment and discrimination is a current and dire challenge facing podiatric residencies in the United States.