The Changing Faces of Leadership in Surgery: Study on Presidents of Major Surgical Organizations

Introduction: To gain an understanding of the changing faces of leadership in surgery, we examined trends in the demographics, additional degrees pursued, and scientific publi-cation characteristics of the past presidents of three major surgery organizations. Methods: We queried the BoardCertifiedDocs and Web of Science databases for the de-mographics, as well as the quantity and quality of publications, of the past presidents of the Association for Academic Surgery, Society of University Surgeons, and American Col-lege of Surgeons from 1970 to 2020. Data were analyzed by decade to identify any trends. Results: We identified a total of 140 presidents from the organizations. The proportion of female presidents significantly increased from the 1990s to the 2010s (10% versus 33%, P < 0.05). The percentage of non-White presidents increased from the 1970s to the 2010s (3.33% versus 21.2%, P = 0.024). The percentage of presidents with additional degrees also increased from the 1970s to the 2010s (10.0% versus 48.8%, P = 0.039). During this same time period, the most common area of expertise of presidents shifted from cardiothoracic surgery to surgical oncology. The ratio of presidents' postinduction to preinduction pub-lications was significantly increased among all three organizations in the 2010s compared to the 1970s (P < 0.05). Co-cluster analysis revealed a research topic change from the 1970s to the 2010s. Conclusions: The faces of surgical leadership have changed in terms of gender equality, racial diversity, surgical subspecialty, and additional degrees held. Such a transformation mirrors evolving diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and it further highlights the adaptability of surgical leadership to the ever-changing landscape of surgery. (c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.