Future work in urology may look at factors influencing pursuit of the field

In this video, Ashley Appleton discusses potential future research based on the study, “The Future State of Race/Ethnicity in Urology: Urology Workforce Projection From 2021-2061,” for which she served as the lead author. Appleton is a third-year medical student at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Video Transcript:

There are many future studies planned that could be beneficial in terms of increasing diversity in urology. When we look at the medical student level, it'll be good to parse out factors that influence medical students' perception of their competitiveness in terms of pursuing a career in urology. We can also look at the timing of exposure to urology. Does early exposure spark interest in urology, or does delayed introduction to the field hinder the consideration of the specialty? [Urology is] very competitive and might require more extracurricular activities and research endeavors. We can look at the financial debt that students are graduating with. URiM medical students actually graduate with a higher debt burden than non-URiM medical students. Could this be influencing their decision to pursue a career in urology, which is a longer residency than most other non-surgical specialties? Lastly, we can look at the higher attrition of Black residents across many surgical specialties. Black residents are more likely to be expelled or dismissed. It'll be good to see what risk factors are leading to this and if we could prevent this from happening in the future and make sure that it's not happening within urology.

This transcription has been edited for clarity.