The current landscape of urological undergraduate education in Canada

Authors

  • Trustin Domes University of Saskatchewan
  • Samya Vellani
  • Félix Couture
  • Naeem Bhojani
  • Sero Andonian
  • Salima Ismail
  • Keith F. Rourke
  • Dawn MacLellan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5489/cuaj.6424

Keywords:

Undergraduate Education, Curriculum

Abstract

Introduction: Urological presentations are commonly seen in primary care and urologists are concerned that educational gaps exist in undergraduate curricula in Canadian medical schools. A pan-Canadian survey of undergraduate urology education directors (UUEDs) was used to determine the current status of undergraduate urology education in Canada.

Methods: In the fall of 2018, a survey was administered to all 17 UUEDs representing every Canadian medical school. The survey assessed multiple factors, including the timing and duration of urologist- led instruction, the perceived adequacy of urological content in the curriculum, and the level of preparedness of graduating students.

Results: The response rate was 100%. Variation in the duration (mean total instructional hours: 22.5±17.2 [5–75] hours) and timing of formal urological instruction was seen. The majority of schools covered core content areas, however, erectile dysfunction, urotrauma, and pediatric urology topics were under-represented. One school had a mandatory urology clerkship rotation (one week), while the other 16 schools offered a selective, with 24.3% of students completing this experience. The majority of UUEDs (64.7%) believed the curricular time devoted to urology was inadequate, 29.4% felt that their graduates were unprepared to diagnose and treat common urological problems, and 76.5% strongly agreed or agreed that a national urology curriculum would be useful.

Conclusions: There was significant variability in the duration of instruction and delivery of urological topics in Canadian medical schools. There was a perceived need for more urological instruction by most UUEDs, who welcomed a more standardized national curriculum as a strategy to address this need.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Published

2020-06-05

How to Cite

Domes, T., Vellani, S. ., Couture, F. ., Bhojani, N. ., Andonian, S. ., Ismail, S. ., Rourke, K. F., & MacLellan, D. . (2020). The current landscape of urological undergraduate education in Canada. Canadian Urological Association Journal, 14(11), E549–54. https://doi.org/10.5489/cuaj.6424

Issue

Section

Original Research