Women urologists

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pugsly

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why are there so few women in this field??? is it not a good idea for a female to pursue this field??? do women urologists not get as many patients as a male urologist???? do women have a tough time getting through this residency????

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Men would generally like to be treated by men, especially in relation to issues involving incontinence and impotence. This is not to mention prostate-related examinations and consultations.

Women would probably have an easier time in gaining interviews and possibly a residency, because of the illogical need for "equality" in every field.

It takes a certain personality to enter this field and as long as women fit the mold, it should not be an issue.
 
I ran into a surprisingly large number of women on the interview trail this year. I think it must be getting more popular with them. Hey, many women would prefer a female OBGYN, but often when they end up going to a male they have no complaints. Same way with the urologist I'm sure. Just change your name to something gender neutral to get them through the door.
 
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I am a male and I disagree. If I had to, for example, get circumcised I would would much prefer a woman urologist to circumcise me than some male doc.

Impotence might be another issue
 
Some women would rather deal with men than women for any number of reasons :) There is some psychiatric overlay with OB/Gyn that turns some women off from that field.

At the risk of getting flamed, I will say that there are similarities to the GYN aspect and uro --- both deal with the respective sexes and cancer issues that can arise (prostate CA for men, cervix/endometrial for women). Both have a clinical and a surgical side. Some women like these aspects, but would rather work with a male population for the above reasons I've mentioned. Plus in Urology, men can't have babies ---- yet another reason for some women to choose this field over OB/Gyn.
 
In my limited experience, roughly a quarter of patients who go to see a Urologist are women. Women get incontinence, kidney stones, kidney cancer, etc. just like men so there is certainly a role for women in the field if you assume that people like to go to Doctors of the same gender.

In terms of interest in Urology, the last statistic I heard was that roughly 4% of practicing Urologists are women and 15% of Urology residents are women. This year there were 70 women who matched in Urology and 176 men who matched. The match rate for both sexes was about 60%. Clearly it is becoming a more appealing specialty for women and it is unclear whether or how that will change the field.
 
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