Current Landscape of Andrology Fellowship Programs and the Effect of Gender on Post-Fellowship Practice Patterns

Abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate the current landscape of andrology fellowships, characteristics of past fellows, and post-fellowship career paths of fellowship graduates. Material and methodsThe websites of the American Urological Association (AUA), Society for the Study of Male Reproduction (SSMR), and Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) were reviewed for sponsored fellowships. Program coordinators, institutional websites, and Google were queried for information about each program in a stepwise fashion. Descriptive statistics and t-tests were used to compare outcomes by gender. ResultsThe SMSNA endorsed 73% of programs, and SSMR 48%, while only 45% of all programs participated in the 2021 AUA match. Nearly all programs (93%) were affiliated with an academic institution. Only 20% programs had any female andrology faculty. From 1982-2020, 324 andrology fellows were identified, 16.4% of whom were female. Of the fellows identified, 54.5% of women pursued academia versus 45.5% of men (P = .39). Men and women were equally likely to advertise an exclusive andrology practice, 65.4 and 61.4%, respectively (P = .78). There was an increase in the proportion of female fellows from 8.1%-20.7% when comparing fellows who began training prior to 2010 to those who began training in 2010 or later (P = .0038). ConclusionNational societies have taken steps towards standardizing andrology fellowship training, but much of the fellowship information is not readily available, restricting the interpretation of gender-based differences in practice environment. However, we found that there was no negative impact in female andrologists’ ability to practice andrology or enter academic careers despite being in a male-dominated subspecialty.