Patients' preference for gender of urologist

The NHS Plan is for a health service designed around the patient. Several studies have investigated patients' preference for the gender of their doctor. However, within these studies, the patients have predominantly been females. The preferences of urology patients, of whom the majority are males, have not previously been investigated. The preferences for gender of urologist, from 496 consecutive patients attending urology clinic in a district general hospital, were investigated by questionnaires. The majority of patients had no preference for gender of their urologist. Of the patients who did have a preference, females were more likely to prefer the same gender urologist than males.