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Urology teaching in UK medical schools: does it prepare doctors adequately?

Nature Reviews Urology volume 17, pages 651–652 (2020)Cite this article

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Exposure to urology is essential for medical undergraduates to prepare them with the competencies required to manage basic urological conditions and to generate interest in the specialty. However, despite the existence of national curricula, the lack of urological exposure and falling competition ratios indicate a need for an evaluation of urological teaching in medical schools.

Urological conditions account for >25% of acute surgical referrals and 10–15% of general practitioner appointments1. Urology is also a common rotation for UK Foundation Year 1 and 2 doctors; however, urological teaching varies considerably across medical schools. This variation could lead to deficiencies in training doctors with the knowledge and skills to manage basic urological conditions1. Regardless of what specialty a doctor chooses for their final career choice, exposure to urology during undergraduate education is essential to ensure graduates are competent at managing urological conditions and have sufficient experience required to see patients with urological concerns as a newly qualified junior doctor2.

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Acknowledgements

British Urology Researchers in Surgical Training (BURST) acknowledges financial support from The British Association of Urological Surgeons, the British Journal of Urology International Trustees, the Rosetrees Trust, The Urology Foundation, Action Bladder Cancer UK, Dominvs Group, UKCRC Registered Clinical Trials Units Network, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, The Institute of Cancer Research, the National Institute for Health Research, the North Wales and North West Urological Research Centre, Prostate Cancer UK, the University of Sheffield, University College London and the University of Birmingham. None of these organizations had a role in the decision to carry out this work, content of this work or decision to publish. V.K. is an academic clinical lecturer funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the NHS, NIHR or the Department of Health. The authors thank W. Cambridge, K. Jayaraajan, C. Lam, M. Matthews, K. Clement, M. Kulkarni and S. Khadhouri, who are part of the LEARN study team.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UCL Medical School, University College London, London, UK

    Alexander Ng

  2. British Urology Researchers in Surgical Training (BURST), London, UK

    Alexander Ng, Alexander Light, Vinson Wai-Shun Chan, Aqua Asif, Nikita R. Bhatt & Veeru Kasivisvanathan

  3. Department of Surgery, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Alexander Light

  4. School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Vinson Wai-Shun Chan

  5. Leicester Medical School, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    Aqua Asif

  6. Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich, UK

    Nikita R. Bhatt

  7. Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London, UK

    Veeru Kasivisvanathan

  8. Department of Urology, University College London Hospital, London, UK

    Veeru Kasivisvanathan

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  1. Alexander Ng
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  6. Veeru Kasivisvanathan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Veeru Kasivisvanathan.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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BURST Research Collaborative: https://www.bursturology.com/

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Ng, A., Light, A., Chan, V.WS. et al. Urology teaching in UK medical schools: does it prepare doctors adequately?. Nat Rev Urol 17, 651–652 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41585-020-00393-6

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