A Career as a Urologist (Electronic book text)

DIVERSE SURGICAL SPECIALTY IN HIGH DEMAND If you dream of becoming a doctor but cant decide whether to be a surgeon or a clinician because both paths sound interesting, urology may be the perfect specialty for you. Thanks to incredible advances in this field, many of the conditions that used to be treated surgically can now be treated medically in the doctors office. So these days urologists typically work a couple of days a week in the hospital operating room performing major surgeries and the remainder in the clinic, doing diagnostic tests, medical treatments and minor surgical procedures.Urologists specialize in the diagnosis, medical treatment, and surgical procedures relating to the kidneys, bladder, adrenal glands, and genitourinary system. The scale of urological disorders is immense, affecting both males and females of all ages. Among the long list of conditions that urologists treat are urinary incontinence; kidney and bladder stones; kidney, bladder, prostate and testicular cancers; prostate disorders, such as inflammation or enlargement; sexual dysfunction and infertility in men; and urinary tract infections. Fortunately, the treatment of many of these problems has evolved from invasive surgical techniques with considerable death rates to highly successful endoscopic and other procedures that require minimal invasion. As with other medical specialties, urology requires many years of study and training well beyond college and medical school. To become a urologist, a medical school graduate must complete a minimum of five years of residency training that includes at least one year of training in general surgery, three years of training in clinical urology and six months of training in urology or other clinical disciplines related to urology.Some urologists choose to specialize. Urology is a rapidly evolving area of medicine that requires doctors to remain actively involved in continuing education. With increasingly complex surgery and advanced medical management of diseases and disorders, urology is an exciting career choice and one of the most highly sought-after specialties among medical students.