Knowledge gap across continents: the andrology and male infertility exposure among urology residents in the United States and Europe.
Ramy Abou GhaydaDiego M CarrionGómez Rivas JuanFrancesco EspertoGuglielmo ManticaMoises E Rodriguez-SocarrasAngelika MattigkMartin KathrinsMichael O'LearyCraig NiederbergerPublished in: International journal of impotence research (2020)
It is well established that resident's exposure and training are of primary importance and positively correlated with patient and health quality outcomes. We aimed to compare and contrast urology residents' self-reported perspectives and attitudes toward exposure and education of andrology and male infertility during residency in both the United States and Europe. We performed a cross-sectional design study using a survey that was distributed to a representative sample of American and European urology residents. The survey included questions regarding demographics, and the residents' perception and description of their training in this specific subspecialty. Response data were analyzed using Chi-square tests. Sixty-five percent of European and thirty-five percent American urology residents reported feeling uncomfortable in a new consultation evaluating an infertile patient and interpreting semen analyses. Surprisingly, more than half of responders replied that they would not go to their own training institutions seeking for male fertility care (78% US and 58% Europeans). In the comparative analysis, although no differences were observed in the very low number (18%) of hospitals that offer formal microsurgical training for urology residents between the US and Europe, more US institutions were reported to have an operating microscope for urology (68% vs. 41%), and more US residents replied reported participating in at least one urologic surgery using the microscope (65% vs. 34%). In conclusion, both American and European residents shared the same frustration regarding their education and exposure to andrology and male infertility during residency training. Collaborative efforts between stakeholders are needed to establish a clear and focused curriculum and training objectives to eliminate this educational gap.
Keyphrases
- quality improvement
- healthcare
- virtual reality
- palliative care
- type diabetes
- magnetic resonance
- minimally invasive
- adipose tissue
- coronary artery disease
- urinary tract
- computed tomography
- risk assessment
- machine learning
- health insurance
- electronic health record
- pain management
- human health
- health information
- artificial intelligence
- affordable care act