Objectives: To analyse the value of an urology initiation session proposed to young interns to improve recruitment of the discipline since the introduction of the new National-Ranking Exam (NRE).
Materials and methods: In October 2004, the 77 interns appointed to surgery in Paris on the basis of the ENC participated in a one-day urology initiation session organized by the AFUF, at the AP-HP School of Surgery. All interns were given a questionnaire at the beginning of the session to record the following data: age, gender, teaching hospital, a student attachment in urology and desired specialization as a function of the surgical training programmes proposed by the ENC. Items concerning the desired specialization were resubmitted to the interns at the end of the session.
Results: Population. 77 interns, 48 females (62.3%) and 29 males (37.7%) with a mean age of 25.2 +/- 5 years (range: 23-31). 55 interns had trained at a Parisian teaching hospital (67%) and 22 (28.6%) had trained at a provincial teaching hospital. 16 interns (20.8%) had completed at least one urology attachment during their medical training. Desired specialization. Orthopaedics was the discipline most frequently cited (n = 20; 26%). Urology was chosen by 8 interns (10.40%), who had all completed an urology attachment during their medical training. At the end of the urology initiation session, another 8 interns expressed the desire to specialize in urology. Of the 16 potential urology interns, 9 (56.2%) confirmed that their decision was final.
Conclusion: Urology occupies a special place and remains a popular surgical speciality among students. Organization of practical sessions constitutes a solution to inform, create an emulation and motivate surgery interns to choose urology.