AUA 2017: Gender-based differences asked of urology applicants during residency interviews

Boston, MA (UroToday.com) Employment law prohibits interviewers from inquiring about discriminatory topics in residency interviews if the topic is not introduced by the applicant and restricted topics include: race, religion, sex, national origin, age, information about pregnancy and plans for future children, marital status, and sexual orientation. In this survey study, Dr. Singal and colleagues aim to determine the rates of potentially discriminatory questions asked during urology residency interviews and to assess for difference in the type and frequency of questions asked of male and female applicants during their entire interview experience.

A 22-question anonymous survey was given to 340 Northwestern University PGY1 urology applicants and questions were asked in a 2-part, step-wise fashion. Applicants were emailed a link to the survey following the Urology Match. There was a 50% response rate (n=170) and 35% of applicants believed they were asked an inappropriate question. Both females and males were most often questioned about national origin (58.54% and 58.91%, respectively). Additionally, females were also most often questioned about current parental status (31.71%) and intent for future children (31.71%). In the free text portion of the survey, males were more often asked about rank list compared to females. There was no statistically significant differences between males and females for relationship status, religion, national origin, and other inappropriate questions.

Based on the results, the authors conclude that there is an alarming percentage of urology applicants asked questions that violate employment law, a significant portion of female applicants were questioned about relationship and parental status, and education of urology applicant interviewers regarding legally restricted questions seems warranted. They suggest for future directions, to include administering this survey to other surgical subspecialties.

This poster was awarded best poster of the session.

Presented by: Ashima Singal, MD

Authors: Mary Kate Fitzgerald Keeter MPH, Ashima Singal MD, Nirali Shah BS, Stephanie Kielb MD

Affiliation: Department of Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Written By: Susan Li, Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, for UroToday.com.

at the 2017 AUA Annual Meeting - May 12 - 16, 2017 – Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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