[Urological training wards - a viable solution to the shortage of healthcare professionals?]

Abstract

Background/objectives: The pressing shortage of professionals in urology increases pressure on medical education and recruitment. Interdisciplinary teaching wards (ITWs) may offer a model to enhance clinical training, promote interdisciplinary competencies, and thereby help mitigate scarcity. This review explores the concept, evidence, structure, and specific application in urology.

Materials and methods: Systematic literature search of PubMed, Google Scholar, and educational databases up to mid-2025.

Inclusion criteria: reports on interdisciplinary/interprofessional teaching wards, clinical teaching units, clerkships, especially in surgical fields and urology; data on structure, outcomes, implementation.

Results: Historically, teaching wards arose from clinical teaching hospitals and interprofessional education in the 20th century. Their structure typically includes multidisciplinary teams, rotating learners, supervised patient care, and curriculum with outcomes and feedback. Evidence shows benefits in clinical skills, teamwork, patient satisfaction, and a possible reduction of errors and costs. However, urology-specific data are sparse. In urology, clerkships, electives and subinternships incorporate certain aspects, but fully developed ITWs in urology are rare.

Conclusion: ITWs hold significant promise for improving education and may contribute to alleviating the workforce shortage in urology. More empirical studies focused on urology are required, especially randomized controlled trials, economic analyses, and implementation studies.