Someone Like Me: An Examination of the Importance of Race-Concordant Mentorship in Urology

Introduction: Growing interest in urology among medical students highlights the need to understand factors influencing their specialty choice in today's context. We also investigate COVID-19's impact on these factors and any disparities among female and underrepresented in medicine (URiM) students.Methods: From 2019 to 2021, the AUA Annual Census survey included medical studentefocused questions on demographics, career interests, and decision factors. Responses were analyzed.Results: One hundred ninety-two medical students participated. Thirty-six (24%) identified as female and 19 (13%) as URiM. Common reasons students would choose urology included surgical procedures (93%) and "good lifestyle" among surgical careers (85%), with no differences across gender or URiM status. Compared to pre-COVID (2019), during COVID (2020-2021), a greater proportion of students cited cutting-edge technology (90.1% vs 73.1%, P ¼ .008) and surgical procedures (98.6% vs 87.2%, P ¼ .008) as reasons to choose urology. Reasons for not choosing urology included competitiveness (48%) and poor lifestyle (26%). Female and URiM students expressed concern related to the combined "male dominated/gender discrimination/lack of diversity" aspect (female 33% vs male 3%, P < .001; URiM 25% vs non-URiM 7%, P ¼ .04). Conclusions:The AUA Census survey highlights factors influencing medical students' decisions regarding urology. Interest in procedural and technological aspects grew during COVID. Students expressed concern over the field's competitiveness and poor lifestyle, while also acknowledging that urology offers a favorable lifestyle compared to other surgical careers.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Influencing Medical Students' Pursuit of Urology: Results From the AUA Census (2019-2021)

Hawks-Ladds,

Labagnara,

Meeks

et al. 2024

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…21 Moreover, race-concordant mentorship has been shown to be extremely valuable to URiM medical students. 22 The nonprofit organization Urology Unbound, founded by Dr Shenelle Wilson in 2020 aims to “recruit, retain and promote underrepresented minority urologists.” 23 Some of their programs include scholarships for away rotations, residency boot camp, and a residency application review. Other grassroots efforts include the UReTER (UnderRepresented Trainees Entering Residency) mentorship program started by University of California, San Francisco urology residents specifically for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People Of Color) and Latinx students.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fostering Diversity in Urology: Addressing Ethnic Disparities in Applicant and Resident Recruitment

Pino,

Song,

Orlando

et al. 2024

Introduction:In this retrospective database review, the objective was to investigate the ethnic composition of urology applicants and residents in recent years and assess whether any advancements have been made in enhancing the recruitment of candidates from historically underrepresented groups in medicine.Methods: A retrospective database review was conducted on self-reported data on the ethnicity of urology applicants from academic year 2016 to 2017 (AY2016) to AY2021 and urology residents from AY2011 to AY2021. Applicant data were collected from the Association of American Medical Colleges, and resident data were collected from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The ethnic proportions of applicants and residents within cohorts were analyzed using c 2 tests, and differences between cohorts were analyzed using Z tests.Results: There was a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of White applicants from 61.4% to 50.5% from AY2016 to AY2021 and a statistically significant increase in the proportion of applicants of multiple race/ethnicity from 4.7% to 12.0% from AY2016 to AY2021. There were disproportionately more Hispanic/Latino residents than applicants and disproportionately fewer residents of multiple race/ethnicity than applicants in the 2 cycles analyzed. There were disproportionately fewer Black residents than applicants only in the comparison of AY2016 to AY2020 applicants to AY2020 residents.Conclusions: There continues to be a lack of ethnic representation among applicants and residents in urology from underrepresented groups in medicine, despite some measurable improvement over the years. This deficit highlights the important need for new and ongoing efforts to diversify the field.

“…3 There is a parallel scarcity of URiM urology faculty members. 4 With fewer female and URiM faculty members, there are fewer concordant mentors available for medical students. Urology residency programs that want to encourage student interest should consider efforts to diversify the gender and ethnic makeup of their faculty who can then act as mentors for students.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3 Having concordant mentorship has been shown to be of higher importance for URiM and female students. 4 This is because students find their lived experiences are better understood by those with similar backgrounds. The lack of ethnic and gender diversity among mentors can thus hinder diverse students’ interest in urology.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

What Pushes and Pulls Underrepresented in Medicine Students to a Career in Urology?

Naha,

Bresler

2024

Medical students must make the daunting choice of which specialty to pursue in residency and their future careers. Their decision-making process will be influenced by personal interest, exposure to and perception of specialties, and the type of career they seek. While students may be drawn to urology for its broad variety in procedures and subspecialties, or its unique mix of surgery and medicine, there are factors that may deter students' interest in the specialty. Hawks-Ladds et al evaluated factors influencing student interest in urology based on AUA Census survey results from 2019 to 2021. 1 We highlight factors impacting female and underrepresented in medicine (URiM) students and describe opportunities for residency programs to further bolster interest.For URiM and female students, attempting to enter a surgical specialty field such as urology can be intimidating. 2 The authors point out that the disparity in gender and ethnic diversity in urologists can dissuade URiM and nonmale medical students. Mentorship has been demonstrated as the determining factor for greater student interest in urology between medical schools. 3 Having concordant mentorship has been shown to be of higher importance for URiM and female students. 4 This is because students find their lived experiences are better understood by those with similar backgrounds. The lack of ethnic and gender diversity among