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ABSTRACT: Background
To determine effects of sexual health curriculum (SHC) in medical school and mentorship on future specialty/subspecialty selection, we sought to evaluate the experiences of urology trainees and practicing urologists.Methods
Residents, fellows, and practicing urologists completed a 15-question survey regarding their exposure to a SHC during medical school, topics covered, and the influence of mentors in their career choice. Summary statistics were used to identify trends based on survey responses.Results
Ninety-four respondents, primarily post-graduate training year 4 and 5 (46%), completed the survey. Approximately 50% recalled a dedicated SHC during medical school with 46% planning to pursue fellowship training in sexual medicine/reconstruction. Topics commonly covered included reproductive anatomy/physiology and sexual history-taking, while respondents rarely recalled topics such as sexual aids/toys and pornography. Only 25% felt their SHC provided an adequate fund of knowledge to address sexual health concerns in patients, and only 14% felt that exposure to a SHC influenced their decision to pursue urology. Individuals intending to pursue fellowship were more likely to have an attending mentor, a mentor with expertise in sexual dysfunction, and considered their mentor as important or very important in their decision to subspecialize (P<0.05).Conclusions
Most urology trainees do not have strong exposure to a SHC during medical school and cite mentorship as a more important role in the decision to pursue subspecialty training. These data support the need for a standardized formal SHC and continued exposure to sexual health experts during training to ensure continued interest in sexual medicine/reconstruction fellowship.
SUBMITTER: Parikh N
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10406534 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Parikh Niki N Aro-Lambo Mazeed M Vencill Jennifer A JA Collins C Scott CS Helo Sevann S Kohler Tobias T Ziegelmann Matthew M
Translational andrology and urology 20230703 7
<h4>Background</h4>To determine effects of sexual health curriculum (SHC) in medical school and mentorship on future specialty/subspecialty selection, we sought to evaluate the experiences of urology trainees and practicing urologists.<h4>Methods</h4>Residents, fellows, and practicing urologists completed a 15-question survey regarding their exposure to a SHC during medical school, topics covered, and the influence of mentors in their career choice. Summary statistics were used to identify trend ...[more]