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Background: Prompt Doppler ultrasonography to aid in diagnosis is often key to managing testicular torsion, but there may be delays in access; a faster, more widely available alternative is point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS). The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a scrotal POCUS curriculum for urology and emergency medicine residents. Methods: Content experts in urology, emergency medicine and diagnostic imaging collaborated in a modified Delphi method to design a practical didactic curriculum for scrotal POCUS for the identification of testicular torsion. Training included 3 online video teaching modules and a 1-hour hands-on teaching session with standardized adult patients. We evaluated participants’ competency in scrotal POCUS using a validated scale. We assessed participants’ knowledge, comfort and confidence in performing scrotal POCUS before and after the intervention and at 3 months. Results: Twenty-four urology (n = 12) and emergency medicine (n = 12) residents participated in the curriculum. After hands-on practice, 23 participants (96%) were deemed competent at scrotal POCUS. Pre–post testing showed significant improvement in knowledge (mean score 63% v. 80%, p < 0.001), comfort (mean Likert score 0.6 v. 3.6, p < 0.001) and confidence (mean Likert score 1.0 v. 2.1, p < 0.001) after the intervention. These effects were maintained at the 3-month assessment. Conclusion: The scrotal POCUS curriculum was effective and acceptable to both urology and emergency medicine residents. The findings suggest that scrotal POCUS can be learned effectively through a short hands-on session and didactic instruction.

Introduction: Physician burnout is associated with medical error, patient dissatisfaction, and poorer physician health. Urologists have reported high levels of burnout and poor work-life integration compared with other physicians. Burnout rates among Canadian urologists has not been previously investigated. We aimed to establish the prevalence of Canadian urologist burnout and associated factors. Methods: In the 2018 Canadian Urological Association census, the Maslach Burnout Inventory questions were assigned to all respondents. Responses from 105 practicing urologists were weighted by region and age group to represent 609 urologists in Canada. Burnout was defined as scoring high on the scales of emotional exhaustion or depersonalization. Demographic and practice variables were assessed to establish factors associated with burnout. Comparisons were made to the results of the 2016 American Urological Association census. Results: Overall, 31.8% of respondents met the criteria for burnout. There was no effect of subspecialty practice or practice setting on burnout. On univariate analysis, rates of burnout were highest among urologists under financial strain (50.8%), female urologists (45.3%), and early-to-mid-career urologists (37.7–41.8%). Factors associated with demanding practices and poor work-life integration were predictive of burnout. A total of 12.2% of urologists reported seeking burnout resources and 54.0% wished there were better resources available. Conclusions: Urologist burnout in Canada is lower than reported in other countries, but contributing factors are similar. Urologists who report demanding clinical practices (particularly in early-to-mid career), poor work-life integration, financial strain, and female gender may benefit from directed intervention for prevention and management of burnout. Burnout resources for Canadian urologists require further development.

Introduction: The number of female medical students and physicians entering the workforce is increasing. Despite this trend, some surgical specialties are still considered male-dominant. Urology has a significant male predominance in both residency and independent practice. This male predominance could have an impact on the physician work force, mentorship opportunities for females pursuing surgery, and on medical student attraction to urology as a specialty. Research conducted in the U.S. has shown that although fewer females enter the field of urology, acceptance rates between the two genders are similar. This study aims to identify if a trend towards gender-specific acceptance into urology residency exists within Canada. We also seek to identify if gender trends in acceptance to urology differ from other surgical specialties in Canada and assess the current workforce trends in Canadian urological practice. Methods: Canadian Residency Matching Services (CARMS) data from the previous 10 years was analyzed. This data was accessed from the CARMS website.1 Logistic regression analyses were used to assess if any significant difference exists between the rates of female and male applicant acceptance into urology. These rates were then compared to the rates of female and male acceptance into surgical residency as a whole and to specific surgical specialties, such as general surgery, orthopedics, and otolaryngology. Results: Within urology applicants, there is no evidence that the success rate over time between males and females differs (p=0.47). Within surgical residency applicants, there is no evidence that the success rate over time differs between male and female applicants (p=0.84). In comparing these two rates, there is also no significant difference between rates of acceptance to urology vs. surgery in general for female applicants (p=0.45). General surgery has a higher growth of females entering into the specialty compared to urology (p=0.026). Conversely, otolaryngology (p=0.123) and orthopedics (p=0.163) did not show a significant difference in the rates of female acceptance as compared to males over time. Our small sample size of 451 applicants over the 10-year time span (122 female, 329 male) could represent a limitation, however, we did ensure to analyze a 10-year sample to attempt to get an accurate representation of any trends. Conclusions: Our data identifies that there is no significant trend toward male acceptance into urology over female applicants. There is no significant difference related to female acceptance specifically into urology or any difference between rates of females accepted into urology as compared to all other surgical subspecialties combined.

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