Introduction: there is a growing concern
about the reduced clinical exposure to urology at undergraduate level in
the United Kingdom. As a consequence, the competencies of junior
doctors are considered inadequate. The views of these doctors in
training towards urology remain under reported.Methods: a modified Delphi method was employed to construct a questionnaire.
Given the rise of social media as a platform for scientific discussion,
participants were recruited via a social networking site. Outcomes
assessed included career preference, exposure to urology, perceived male
dominance, and confidence at core procedures.Results: in total, 412 and 66 responses were collected from medical students and
junior doctors, respectively. Overall, 41% of participants felt that
they had received a good level of clinical exposure to urology as part
of their training and 15% were considering a career in this speciality.
Female students were significantly less likely to consider urology as a
career option (p < 0.01). Of these, 37% of the students felt
confident at male catheterization and 46% of students regarded urology
as a male-dominated speciality.Conclusions: urology is perceived as male dominated and is the least likely surgical
speciality to be pursued as a career option according to our survey.
Increased exposure to urology at the undergraduate level and dedicated
workshops for core urological procedures are needed to address these
challenges.</p
