Who Are the Mentors of the Future Endourologist? An Analysis of Endourological Society Program Directors

Surgical training programs are pivotal in shaping skilled and compassionate surgeons, with mentors playing a crucial role in instilling clinical competence and essential attributes. This study aims to describe the characteristics of the program directors of Endourological Society-accredited fellowship programs. The Endourological Society's website was used to identify program directors. The following data points were extracted: year of graduation from medical school, year of completing residency, if they had attended fellowship training or held additional degrees such as (PhD, MS, MBA, MSc, etc.), and number of publications on Scopus. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. A total of 84 fellowship programs and 115 program directors were identified. Geographically, 77.4% (n = 65) were in North America, 8.3% (n = 7) in Asia, 8.3% (n = 7) in the Middle East, 3.6% (n = 3) in Europe, and 2.4% (n = 2) in South America. Of the 115 program directors, 94.8% were male, and only 5.2% were female. Program directors graduated medical school with a median year of 1998 (1966-2015). Eighty percent attended fellowship programs, and 19.1% held additional degrees (PhD, MS, MBA, MSc, etc.). The median number of publications was 79 (4-1963), with a median citation of 1607 (1-43,565). The median H-index was 23 (range: 1-110). Most program directors of Endourological Society-accredited fellowship programs are fellowship-trained and a notable number held a second degree. However, a pronounced gender disparity is observed, with limited female representation among program directors. This assessment contributes valuable insights into the urology and endourology mentorship, emphasizing the need for broader diversity and inclusivity in leadership roles.