The COVID-19 crisis continues to disrupt our traditional models of teaching. Urological emergencies account for 20% of all acute surgical admissions and 5-10% of general practitioner visits [1]. Currently in the UK, undergraduate teaching on urology is not compulsory.
Fewer than half of UK medical schools offer a formal placement with a urology team [2]. Urology is often allocated only a tiny proportion of student time in most curriculums and giving effective teaching to students and junior doctors is critical for maintaining good future care for our patients and attracting new doctors to our speciality.
Urology for Medical Students and Junior Doctors, Ricky Ellis (Twitter @RickJEllis1)
The British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) have long realised the importance of teaching the next generation through the medical student section of the BAUS website and the junior doctor section for foundation and core trainees. The latest addition is an excellent textbook for medical students written by Ricky Ellis. It is now available for free to UK medical students and junior doctors on submitting your email address from the link below [3]. Having carried out weekly remote medical student teaching since lockdown started, I can confidently say that the textbook is an excellent resource and was universally well received by all groups.
BAUS medical student section, led by Toby Page (Twitter @page_toby)
For medical students this includes access to online learning videos [4], educational apps, links to medical school educational leads, the annual medical student essay competition, urology career information, the undergraduate syllabus for urology and membership information for the European Association of Urology (EAU).
https://www.baus.org.uk/professionals/
sections/medical_students.aspx
Urology resource channel, Hari Ratan (Twitter @lithohlr)
A selection of YouTube videos [5] on urology created and curated by Hari Ratan. Topics include lecture presentations on bladder cancer, haematuria, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), testicular torsion, male catheterisation, lower urinary tract symptoms, scrotal lumps and acute urinary retention.
https://www.youtube.com/c/
UrologyResource/videos
Students for Urology, led by Herman Fernando (Twitter @urohfernando)
Supported by BAUS educational leads, the Students for Urology new national society and platform for promoting urology amongst medical students, foundations doctors and core trainees. A great opportunity for medical students and junior doctors to be involved in the future of urology education. Although it is early days for the website and platform, the site summarises medical student education and the opportunity to be involved in an inaugural essay competition and a new urology student conference is planned.
Geekymedics
A slick website based on the various specialities in the medical school curriculum. The site is easy to use and well catalogued. Presented in a problem-based learning approach, there are sections on testicular torsion, infertility, prostate cancer, scrotal lumps, erectile dysfunction and haematuria. From a practical or OSCE perspective, there are assessment checklists and approaches for assessing the acutely unwell surgical patient, male and female catheterisation and suturing techniques, personal protective equipment (PPE) and gowning. There is also a further quiz-based sister site for multiple choice questions, geekyquiz.com and a well-designed app for iPhone and android [7]. Overall, an excellent resource for medical students!
https://geekymedics.com/
category/surgery/urology/
If you are a medical student, foundation doctor or core trainee and are aware of other resources, please consider getting in touch with Students for Urology or get in touch with me on Twitter @urolsurg.
References
1. Miah S, Mangera A, Venugopal S, et al. The clinical need for undergraduate urology. Clin Teach 2015;12(5):353-5.
2. Derbyshire LF, O’Flynn KJ. Medical Students’ Exposure to Urology in the Undergraduate Curriculum, a Web Based Survey. British Journal of Medical and Surgical Urology 2012;5(1):4-10.
3. Ellis R. Urology for Medical Students and Junior Doctors. 2020.
https://www.baus.org.uk/professionals/
sections/urology_textbook_for_medical
_students_junior_doctors.aspx
[Accessed 21 July 2020].
4. BAUS Medical Student Section
https://www.baus.org.uk/
professionals/sections/medical_students.aspx
5. Ratan H. Urology Resource.
https://www.youtube.com/c/UrologyResource/videos
6. Students for Urology.
https://sfu.org.uk/
7. https://geekymedics.com/geeky-medics-app/
