Hi, this is Reem Dabool, PGY2 Orthopedic Surgery Resident in Grandview, Kettering Health, Dayton, Ohio. And this is my poster. So globally, OR clothing protocols are essential for maintaining hygiene and reducing contamination risks. However, while garment like surgical gown, caps, and hoods are vital for patient safety, they may unintentionally conflict with certain religious and cultural practices. Specifically, for many Muslim women, the hijab is the hijab, which is the head covering that women wears in Islam, is a critical expression of modesty and religious devotion. Unfortunately, standard OR protocols often fail to accommodate the hijab, leading to discomfort and negative experience in the OR. So our study sought to assess the impact of existing OR clothing protocols on the comfort and professional aspiration of Muslim hijabi individuals interested in surgical specialties. We explored the specific challenges these women face in adhering to OR clothing requirement and how these challenges might affect their willingness to pursue surgical careers. Additionally, we investigated whether alternative clothing options such as disposable hijabs could positively influence their decision to enter surgical field. So we conducted a cross-sectional survey targeting Muslim hijabi women at various stages of their medical careers, including practicing surgeons, residents, and medical students. The survey distributed via social media, direct emails to healthcare organization, and it captured participant demographics, their religious background, and experiences with OR clothing protocols. Particular emphasis was placed on how these protocols influenced their decision to pursue surgical specialties or not, and their reaction to the idea of hospital-provided disposable hijab. So for the results section, over four weeks, we received 33 responses, 27 meeting our inclusion criteria. Among these respondents, 74% felt discouraged from pursuing a surgical specialty due to OR clothing requirements, and 59% reported facing problems wearing their hijab in the OR. A significant 70% felt anxious about wearing their hijab in the OR, with no respondent reporting feeling accepted while doing so. Furthermore, only seven respondents indicated that their hospital-provided disposable hijab. Interestingly... Hello? Hey. Hey. Uh, two things. Thanks for the baklava. It's actually really good. Yeah, I was just eating some too. Yeah, I was hoping you didn't poison me. No, I did not. But, uh, tomorrow, what is your schedule in the morning? I was looking at my schedule, and I think I have four knee scopes, distal radius, a core decompression, and that's trying to figure out what time you'll be there so we can try to get the most out of this day tomorrow. I mean, by the time tomorrow is over, I want you to be confident scoping a knee at least. So if you show up at 10, I ain't gonna have any knee scopes left. You know what I mean? Yeah, I was hoping to show up at like around 7 30 40. Okay. Hopefully. Well, my first case today is a knee scope, so you're not going to be there. The second case is a total, so I'll have to be in there. So I'm guessing that you will. What I hope happens is maybe I knock that first one out. Okay. You show up while I'm most of the way through, and then what I can do is maybe have somebody else close that, and we can go over and start those knee scopes together. Okay. Because I'm hoping maybe you watch me do one. You haven't actually. That wasn't a total yet. Right. I mean, that's different. That's totally different. So maybe I'll walk you through the first one. You do the next one, and then the third one, you're on your own. Sounds perfect. Let's see how it goes. Okay. All right. Do me a favor. Don't don't sit too long on your pancakes. I will. Or you'll miss all that whole day. All right. See ya.

Muslim women

hijab

OR clothing

surgical careers

disposable hijabs