PERCEPTION, ATTITUDE, AND KNOWLEDGE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ON UROLOGY CURRICULUM DELIVERED BY MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN SAUDI ARABIA

Background: Urology is a branch of medicine that deals with different diseases of the urinary tract or the reproductive organs in both men and women. There is anecdotal evidence that medical students are not well-known with Urology specialty comparing with other specialties like general surgery, internal medicine, etc. Based on several factors including student's awareness, overcrowded curriculum, traditional medical education system, and busy hospital rotations in clinical years and internship are associated with a poor level of knowledge in Urology specialty field. The purpose of this survey is to evaluate the effect of including urology curriculum on the knowledge, perception, and attitude of our medical students in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, to assess the inhibiting factors affecting their selection in enrollment in a postgraduate training program in urology. Methods: An online questionnaire was sent to all medical students through official E-mail addresses. The responses were collected and tabulated. Frequencies and percentages were calculated using SPSS 21 software. Results: The response was 116 participants from all over Saudi Arabia regions, 62 (53.4 %) were males and 53 (46.6%) were females. Respondents included 29 (25 %) 6th-year medical students and 28 (24.1%) medical interns. 59 (50.9 %) respondents had urology rotation. Only 13 (11.2 %) of the respondents were thinking of pursuing a career in urology, all of them were males. 93 (80.2 %), 69 (59.5 %), 83 (71.6%) and 65 (56%), had adequate knowledge in subjects as urolithiasis, urine incontinence, urinary tract infection and uro-oncology respectively. Conclusion: Only small percentage of medical students Consider Pursuing a Career in urology. Unattractive lifestyle, social issues, the specialty is limited to the scope of the field are the reasons behind medical student avoid a Career in urology. In many urology topics, medical student's knowledge was sufficient. Current medical school's curricula provide students with adequate knowledge and skills.