Technical skill assessments show mixed gender effects, with initial task differences disappearing after training and no evidence that stereotype threat impairs female performance¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2024 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Men were initially more skilful in laparoscopic peg transfer and intracorporeal knot tying, but performance was not different between genders after training. → Jones Rebecca L. 2024 q2 i? Studies hypothesising stereotype threat impairment of female performance found no evidence supporting the hypothesis. → Jones Rebecca L. 2024 (2)

Evidence¶

Jones Rebecca L. 2024¶

Jones Rebecca L., Prusmetikul Suwimol, Whitehorn Sarah. (2024). Differential attainment in assessment of postgraduate surgical trainees: a scoping review. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05580-2

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports, citing White & Welch, that initial gender differences in laparoscopic tasks disappeared after training; microsurgical skill differences were not significant and all trainees improved significantly after training. Second-hand findings via the review.

"In laparoscopic tasks, men were initially more skilful in peg transfer and intracorporeal knot tying than women. Following training, the performance was not different between genders [47]."

Jones Rebecca L. 2024 (2)¶

Jones Rebecca L., Prusmetikul Suwimol, Whitehorn Sarah. (2024). Differential attainment in assessment of postgraduate surgical trainees: a scoping review. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05580-2

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports, citing Milam et al. and Myers et al., that studies hypothesising stereotype threat would impair female trainees' performance found no supporting evidence. Men performed better in mental rotation and women in working memory, but the threat hypothesis was disproved.

"They found no evidence of stereotype threat influencing female performance, disproving their hypothesis, a finding supported by Myers et al. [50]."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Stereotype Threat — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Published research on differential attainment in postgraduate surgical assessment is dominated by quantitative, gender-focused studies from the USA and UK — related
• Evidence on gender gaps in surgical examination pass rates is mixed, with lower female MRCS pass rates in some UK studies but no differences in several other examinations — related
• Female trainees report fewer operative cases and less operative experience than male trainees in several surgical specialties — related
• Stereotype threat compromises the test performance of learners whose group is the target of a negative stereotype — a broader claim this one bears on
• Social identity threat impairs math performance via increased intrusive thoughts and working memory load (being-cognition disfluency) — related
• White men performed measurably worse on tests of innate athletic ability when under stereotype threat — related