Urology Training Across Borders: An International Survey of Residents’ Experiences, Perceptions, and Expectations

Background/Objectives: Urology residency training widely varies across countries, and evidence comparing residents’ experiences at an international level is limited. This study reports the results of an international survey of urology residents from different countries worldwide, aiming to characterize training environments, educational exposure, and trainee expectations across diverse healthcare systems. Methods: A 39-item online survey was administered to urology residents during the Société Internationale d’Urologie (SIU) Regional Meeting (Florence, November 2024), assessing demographics, training exposure, educational resources, workload, satisfaction, and career perspectives. The results were compared between trainees at different postgraduate years (PGYs) to explore associations for key outcomes. Results: Overall, 208 urology residents from 21 countries completed the survey. Most residents were actively involved in research (76.4%), although confidence in independent scientific production was moderate (significantly lower among junior trainees). Surgical exposure increased with PGY, with good experience in endoscopy but limited hands-on exposure and expected autonomy in laparoscopic, robotic, and major open surgery. Despite high overall satisfaction with urology, residents described heavy workloads, inconsistent access to structured teaching and international fellowships, and a long-term shift in career expectations toward private practice. Conclusions: Urology residents worldwide report high engagement in research, strong satisfaction with their specialty choice, and interest in international mobility. Nonetheless, persistent disparities in surgical exposure, research confidence, workload, and gender representation highlight the need for competency-based curricula, structured mentorship, and improved training organization to promote equitable and high-quality urology education globally.

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Publication Details

Journal
Société Internationale d’Urologie Journal
Published
2026-04-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/siuj7020024
Primary Topic
Global Health and Surgery
Type
article
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article

Urology Training Across Borders: An International Survey of Residents’ Experiences, Perceptions, and Expectations

Roberto Contieri, Stavros Gravas, Dimitrios E Diamantidis, Philippe E. Spiess et al.
Société Internationale d’Urologie Journal
Global Health and Surgery
article

Urology Training Across Borders: An International Survey of Residents’ Experiences, Perceptions, and Expectations

Roberto Contieri, Stavros Gravas, Dimitrios E Diamantidis, Philippe E. Spiess, Lazaros I. Tzelves, Sergio Serni, Wilbert Fana Mutomba, Petros Sountoulides, Andrea Alberti, Amanda A. Myers, Ioana Fugaru, Julian P. Struck, Francesco Curto, N. Pyrgidis, Alessandro Uleri, Jack M. Zuckerman, Jean de la Rosette, Georgios Chasiotis, Harshit Garg, M. Pilar Laguna, Anna L. Heinrichs, Gaëlle Margue, Rossella Nicoletti, Clément Klein, Olumide Farinre, Henry H. Woo, Mauro Gacci
article en

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Urology residency training widely varies across countries, and evidence comparing residents’ experiences at an international level is limited. This study reports the results of an international survey of urology residents from different countries worldwide, aiming to characterize training environments, educational exposure, and trainee expectations across diverse healthcare systems. Methods: A 39-item online survey was administered to urology residents during the Société Internationale d’Urologie (SIU) Regional Meeting (Florence, November 2024), assessing demographics, training exposure, educational resources, workload, satisfaction, and career perspectives. The results were compared between trainees at different postgraduate years (PGYs) to explore associations for key outcomes. Results: Overall, 208 urology residents from 21 countries completed the survey. Most residents were actively involved in research (76.4%), although confidence in independent scientific production was moderate (significantly lower among junior trainees). Surgical exposure increased with PGY, with good experience in endoscopy but limited hands-on exposure and expected autonomy in laparoscopic, robotic, and major open surgery. Despite high overall satisfaction with urology, residents described heavy workloads, inconsistent access to structured teaching and international fellowships, and a long-term shift in career expectations toward private practice. Conclusions: Urology residents worldwide report high engagement in research, strong satisfaction with their specialty choice, and interest in international mobility. Nonetheless, persistent disparities in surgical exposure, research confidence, workload, and gender representation highlight the need for competency-based curricula, structured mentorship, and improved training organization to promote equitable and high-quality urology education globally.

Société Internationale d’Urologie JournalVol. 7(2)
Humanitas University (IT), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (US), Democritus University of Thrace (GR), Eastern Virginia Medical School (US), University of Nicosia (CY), Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR), University College Hospital, Ibadan (NG), Sismanoglio General Hospital (GR), Blacktown & Mount Druitt Hospital (AU), Moffitt Cancer Center (US), Max Healthcare (IN), Istanbul Medipol University (TR), University of Cyprus (CY), Chris O’Brien Lifehouse (AU), University Hospital of Larissa (GR), Hôpital Pellegrin (FR), Bashkir State Medical University (RU), Fondazione Istituto G. Giglio di Cefalù (IT), Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS "Fondazione G. Pascale" (IT), Universitätsklinikum Brandenburg an der Havel (DE), University of Florence (IT), McGill University (CA), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (DE), University of Palermo (IT)
Gender equality
Openalex Percentile: Top 18%
Global Health and Surgery
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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