Context There is an increasing number of medical school graduates opting for surgical specialties and the osteopathic applicant match rate for urology is lower than that of allopathic applicants. Factors influencing this may include a lack of interest, perceived challenges in matching into urology, insufficient urology mentorship, limited research opportunities, and inadequate osteopathic representation in urology.

Objective To assess osteopathic medical students’ perspectives on pursuing urology and enhancing preclinical exposure to and knowledge of urology.

Methods A 20-question survey addressing experiences and the factors influencing osteopathic medical students’ specialty selection and their interest in and perception of urology was designed by the investigators on Research Electronic Data Capture software. This survey was distributed via email listserv to all current osteopathic medical students attending Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine over two months. Responses were collected and analyzed using Fisher’s exact test.

Results Of 150 respondents, 91% found mentors crucial in selecting a medical specialty, 95% emphasized the importance of early exposure, and 68% lacked familiarity with urology, with more M1 students unfamiliar compared to M2 (70.37% vs. 59.02%). A larger proportion of combined M1 and M2 (preclinical) students are considering urology as a specialty compared to M3 and M4 (clinical) students who are actively on rotations (56.52% vs. 28.57%; p = 0.0064). Also, a greater percentage of males are considering urology compared to females (64.15% vs. 42.71%; p = 0.0164). Among those considering urology (n = 75), 57.3% lack awareness of urology’s scope, and 84% report no preclinical discussions with urologists. Those students who report they are considering urology value early exposure significantly more than others (98.67% vs. 78.67%; p = 0.0001). They also express greater interest in having a core urology course (73.33% vs. 38.67%; p < 0.0001). More urology considering students are interested in extracurricular urology-related workshops, seminars, or conferences (61.33% vs. 17.33%; p <0.0001). Students who are considering urology as a specialty show greater interest in having a mentorship program (85.33% vs. 28%; p < 0.0001).

Conclusion Results suggested that increased urology exposure during the preclinical years is important. Urology elective offerings and urology mentorship are of high interest among those considering urology. However, additional investigation is needed to determine the impact of preclinical urology curricula implementation on urology match outcomes.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

This study did not receive any funding.

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

Ethics committee/IRB of Nova Southeastern University Kiran C Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine gave ethical approval for this work.

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

Yes

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

Yes

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Yes

All data produced in the present work are contained in the manuscript