The perception and competency of undergraduates in urology: Is the clinical exposure necessary?

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate medical students' perception, choices of future career, and competency in urology. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was distributed among 5th, 6th, and 7th (interns) year medical students at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences using both hard copies and soft copies. Major outcomes were medical students' perception, future career decision, and core skills in urology. Results: The overall response rate was 51.3%. A total number of 163 responses (122 were males and 41 females) were collected. Only 8% indicated that they would pursue a surgical career in urology and 42% thought that they had received a good clinical exposure to urology. Of the participants, 67.5% viewed urology as a male-dominated field. Only 17% of the respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that they were considering a future career in urology. Female students were less likely to consider a urological career (P < 0.01). About 32.5% were confident at urethral catheterization. About 66.9% felt that a workshop day to enhance urological skills and knowledge will be beneficial. Females were more confident at assessing a urological case in an acute setting (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Most of the students agreed that their urology exposure was inadequate and their confidence at urethral catheterization was low. As in many different global studies, urology is still regarded as a specialty with a male dominance. This report is consistent with the global decline in formal urological education.