Women Urologists: Trends in Mentoring and Career Choices

We examined trends in the mentorship and career choices of women urologists.

An anonymous electronic survey was distributed to 1,563 women urologists in January 2015. Descriptive data are presented as the percent and mean.

Of the 1,563 emails sent 365 surveys were completed for a 23% response rate. Practicing women urologists were most likely to be in academic practice (85 of 218 or 39%) or group practice (96 of 218 or 44%). Of 215 women urologists 108 (almost 45%) held a traditional academic rank of professor, associate professor or assistant professor. Of practicing female urologists 52% had completed fellowship training. In the early 1990s a traditional academic rank was held by 22% to 31% of women compared to 44.6% in the current study. Fellowship trained women urologists were more likely to hold a traditional academic rank (p <0.001). Nonfellowship trained women urologists were as likely to work more than 50 hours per week as those who were fellowship trained (p = 1). Compared to practicing urologists current trainees were more likely to have another female urology resident in the program during training as well as a female attending (each p <0.001). There was no difference between trainees and those in practice with respect to being mentored during training (p = 0.6). Most trainees and practicing urologists reported being a mentor to younger women in urology (p = 0.5).

Women urologists have a high rate of fellowship training and more women are attaining academic rank and pursuing academics. Mentoring in urological training is improving. However, there is a continued need for women urologists to ascend to leadership positions in training programs and urological societies to more accurately reflect the changing membership of urologists as a group.