Early adopters or laggards? Attitudes toward and use of social media among urologists.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the attitudes and practices of urologists regarding social media use. Social media services have become ubiquitous, but their role in the context of medical practice is underappreciated. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A survey was sent to all active members of the Canadian Urological Association by e-mail and surface mail. Likert scales were used to assess engagement in social media, as well as attitudes toward physician responsibilities, privacy concerns and patient interaction online. RESULTS: Of 504 surveys delivered, 229 were completed (45.4%). Urologists reported frequent or daily personal and professional social media use in 26% and 8% of cases, respectively. There were no differences between paper (n = 103) or online (n = 126; P > 0.05) submissions. Among frequent social media users, YouTube (86%), Facebook (76%), and Twitter (41%) were most commonly used; 12% post content or links frequently to these sites. The most common perceived roles of social media in health care were for inter-professional communication (67%) or as a simple information repository (59%); online patient interaction was endorsed by 14% of urologists. Fewer than 19% had read published guidelines for online patient interaction, and ≤64% were unaware of their existence. In all, 94.6% agreed that physicians need to exercise caution personal social media posting, although 57% felt that medical regulatory bodies should 'stay out of [their] personal social media activities', especially those in practice <10 years (P = 0.001). In all, 56% agreed that social media integration in medical practice will be 'impossible' due to privacy and boundary issues; 73% felt that online interaction with patients would become unavoidable in the future, especially those in practice >20 years (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Practicing urologists engage infrequently in social media activities, and are almost universal in avoiding social media for professional use. Most feel that social media is best kept to exchanges between colleagues. Emerging data suggest an increasing involvement is likely in the continuing professional development space.

Standardized evaluation of satisfaction within urology residents during clinical training: Implementation of a new urological residency rotation program at the university hospital Frankfurt.

Background: Structured curricula are demanded to improve training programs of future urologists. This study aimed to evaluate the acceptance of the newly implemented residency rotation program at the University Hospital Frankfurt. Primary endpoint was resident's satisfaction with the current residency rotation program. Secondary endpoint was the fulfilment of the objectives and expectations by residents. Methods: A standardized 15-item, online-based survey was sent to every urologic resident of the University Hospital Frankfurt, completing their rotation between August 2020 and August 2022. In addition to baseline characteristics, training and working conditions were assessed. Descriptive statistics were applied. Results: In total 15 rotations of the Residency Rotation Program at the University Hospital Frankfurt were evaluated, including urologic practice (5/15), Intermediate Care Unit (4/15), urooncology (4/15) and clinical exchange to St. Gallen (2/15). Overall, the majority were very (67%) or rather satisfied (2%) with their rotation. Of the pre-rotation defined objectives, 71% were fulfilled, 18% partially fulfilled and 8% not fulfilled. With respect to the expectations, 67% were fulfilled, 19% partly fulfilled and 4% were not fulfilled. All residents would recommend their respective rotations. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that the residency rotation program at the University Hospital Frankfurt enjoys a high level of acceptance as well as a positive impact on urologic training. Satisfaction with the completed rotation was convincing, most of the expectations and objectives for the respective rotation could be fulfilled. These results help to ensure the quality of urologic curricula and to improve the structure of training programs for future urologists.

The emerging role of social media in urology.

Social media have become so integrated into modern communications as to be universal in our personal and, increasingly, professional lives. Recent examples of social media uptake in urology, and the emergence of data to quantify it, reveal the expansion of conventional communication routes beyond the in-person forum. In every domain of urologic practice, from patient interaction through research to continuing professional development, the move online has unlocked another layer of conversation, dissemination, and, indeed, caveats. Social media have a democratizing effect, placing patients, trainees, practitioners, and thought leaders in the same arena and on equal footing. If uptake of social media in medicine even remotely parallels its rise to ubiquity in other areas, it will only expand and evolve in the coming years. For these reasons, this article presents an overview of the most recent data on the impact and potential complications of social media usage in the urologic community.