Future of Urology

[Livingthemedlyf]

Hey guys,

Have really enjoyed urology (to my surprise), and was almost certain about pursuing it. However, some people have told me that there may be fewer jobs in the future due to IR taking over some bread-and-butter procedures.

For example, prostate artery embolisation for BPH making TURPs less required, ablation for RCC - recent studies showing it to be equal for RCC <2cm, and radiation therapy for prostate cancers.

Do you think this is being overstated to me and that urology will go down the path of cardiothoracics due to minimally invasive techniques used by IR in the coming decades?

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[anbuitachi]

Hey guys,

Have really enjoyed urology (to my surprise), and was almost certain about pursuing it. However, some people have told me that there may be fewer jobs in the future due to IR taking over some bread-and-butter procedures.

For example, prostate artery embolisation for BPH making TURPs less required, ablation for RCC - recent studies showing it to be equal for RCC <2cm, and radiation therapy for prostate cancers.

Do you think this is being overstated to me and that urology will go down the path of cardiothoracics due to minimally invasive techniques used by IR in the coming decades?

no, i dont think so. people are getting older and therefore there'll be a lot more patients for you guys. minor things like IR doing PAE and changes like that will always be happen and can often be unpredictable, so i wouldn't worry about that. it's not a game changer for sure

 

[Redpancreas]

Hey guys,

Have really enjoyed urology (to my surprise), and was almost certain about pursuing it. However, some people have told me that there may be fewer jobs in the future due to IR taking over some bread-and-butter procedures.

For example, prostate artery embolisation for BPH making TURPs less required, ablation for RCC - recent studies showing it to be equal for RCC <2cm, and radiation therapy for prostate cancers.

Do you think this is being overstated to me and that urology will go down the path of cardiothoracics due to minimally invasive techniques used by IR in the coming decades?

Name any specialty and I’ll give you some doom & gloom. I’m probably not in the best position to prognosticate for Urology never having done a rotation in it, but from what I know, there are like a million other bread/butter conditions urology seems to manage (kidney stones, genital issues, ureter stuff, etc.) and I’m sure more will be invented. They are the surgeons of THE GU tract and have no competition from a medical subspecialty unlike places like India where TURP is done by nephrologists. I would not worry too much about IR taking your procedures. You have your patient base and it seems like IR literally covers every field’s stuff. They’ll probably too busy to do what you seem to fear.

 

[NotaCop]

There’s also a huge wave of older uro guys getting ready to retire, making this a very attractive time to be entering he field (per docs I’ve discussed this with at conferences)

 

[DocWinter]

^ Uro is an old, aging field. As a young guy getting in you'll have your pick of jobs and more work than you need.

 

[Frogger27]

From my understanding, Urology is one of the best specialties in medicine in regards to the current job market/medicine landscape. AUA has done a great job of limiting residency spots and there is a huge need for general Urologists (as opposed to other surgical fields where fellowship is basically required). Add to that the aging population and wave of Urologists getting ready to retire.

 

[cpants]

Hey guys,

Have really enjoyed urology (to my surprise), and was almost certain about pursuing it. However, some people have told me that there may be fewer jobs in the future due to IR taking over some bread-and-butter procedures.

For example, prostate artery embolisation for BPH making TURPs less required, ablation for RCC - recent studies showing it to be equal for RCC <2cm, and radiation therapy for prostate cancers.

Do you think this is being overstated to me and that urology will go down the path of cardiothoracics due to minimally invasive techniques used by IR in the coming decades?

What protects urology is that we are the gatekeeper of those patients for all the examples you mentioned. It is highly unlikely that a patient with RCC is going to go to IR for an ablation unless a urologist sends them there. Likewise for PAE and radiation.

I don't think urology is going to be oversaturated, but no one can predict the future. I will say that the field has weathered many gamechangers over the years. TURP used to be the only effective therapy for BPH for example -- that was the TRUE bread and butter of the urologist in the 70s and 80s. The advent of effective medical therapy (alpha blockers and 5-ARI's) made it so that instead of 90% of guys with symptomatic BPH were getting TURP's to now about 5-10% get surgery. Nonetheless, we took over the medical management and we grew in other ways.

Supply is only going down. Last time I checked, the average age of urologists was about 60 and nearing retirement. That's the AVERAGE age. Demand is going up with baby boomers now entering the age when they need the most urologic care.

Outlook is very strong at least in the 10-20 year range.

 

[Frogger27]

AUA Census Highlights State of Urology Workforce

Found this article from 2015 on the AUA website. Over half of Urologists are 53+ and 23% are 65+

 

[crazyasian]

Urology has one of the best job markets out there and don't let anyone tell you any different. In general for most specialities the job market is very good and nobody has trouble getting jobs. I get calls and emails regularly for job opportunities and I still have 3 years left in my urology residency. Some guys are willing to pay you a resident stipend just to sign you for two years out. The average age of urologist is nearing retirement age and there are still not enough urologists being produced to 1) keep up with demand, and 2) replace the retiring workforce.

 

[TypeADissection]

The job outlook for a urologist will remain quite bright for the foreseeable future. Not enough supply to meet the demand. Just comes down to finding the right situation you want to be in more than anything else when all is said and done.

Source: My buddies who have either finished urology residency/fellowship in last 2 years (n = 4) or are about to finish are having zero issues getting job offers. They're just trying to find something they like amidst all the offers.