#ILookLikeAUrologist: Using Twitter to Discuss Diversity and Inclusion in Urology

According to the 2018 American Urological Association census, only 9.2% of practicing urologists are female and 16% are non-Caucasian. Social media have been used in other medical disciplines to promote diversity and form networks for gender and racial minorities. We studied the hashtag #ILookLikeAUrologist, started to promote diversity and inclusion in urology, to determine if it had any signs of a community of practice. Over the 4 yr since its inception, there have been 3694 tweets using the hashtag #ILookLikeAUrologist. The discussion had 1348 unique contributors, hailing from 35 countries on six continents. There were 8,156,051 impressions, highlighting a wide potential reach for the discussion. In a random 25% sample of original tweets, the main themes were gender representation, followed by personal narratives and camaraderie. Most contributors were practicing urologists, followed by urology trainees, other physicians, and professional organizations. Although most posts were authored by women, men represented nearly a quarter of individual contributors. The #ILookLikeAUrologist hashtag has been widely used by a large global audience in urology. Future research is warranted to examine the impact of digital communities of practice on outcomes such as fostering collaboration, providing mentorship, and reducing burnout. PATIENT SUMMARY: The #ILookLikeAUrologist hashtag has been widely used on Twitter by a large global audience to promote diversity and inclusion in urology.