Improving Medical Student Engagement in Urology: The AUANews Medical Student Column

Abstract

MEDICAL students receive limited and intermittent exposure to urology, a pattern standing in stark contrast to other surgical subspecialties. Take orthopedics, for example, where public perception is colored by mass media, popular culture, or even personal experience. On the other hand, the sensitive nature of urological conditions limits public discourse and leads to further misinformation. In reality, medical students chance upon urology during cursory clinical encounters, rather than structured didactic or clinical courses. 1 Although efforts exist to enhance urological training in undergraduate medical education, these efforts are not standardized across institutions. Moreover, almost one-quarter of medical schools (24.2%) lack a home urology program, where students are even further disadvantaged. This creates a 2-fold dilemma to the pursuit of urological training: (1) medical students are uninformed of the diversity of urological conditions and their innovative management options, and (2) mentorship and opportunities in urology are not universally publicized to all medical trainees.A minority of medical schools offer preclinical urology coursework, only 5% of schools have a mandatory urology clerkship, and program directors report that student exposure to urology has declined over the last decade. 2,3 There are various barriers to timely exposure, including limited time in the medical school curriculum, perceived importance of common urology conditions, availability of a home program, mentorship, and research opportunities. While applications for the urology match far exceed spots, there is still room for increasing student interest, as we must address issues including the lack of diversity and the looming urology workforce shortage.The single best way to increase awareness and interest is by creating and advertising new opportunities for student involvement. Studies have repeatedly shown that a few medical schools with robust urology programming match a disproportionately large number of students, a trend that has downstream consequences for diversity. 4,5 Additionally, given the aging population and modern appreciation for genitourinary issues, demand for urological services is only increasing. Yet the