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Introduction: We characterized physician burnout among urologists to determine the prevalence and efficacy of specific burnout interventions utilized and to determine involvement of workplaces in effective burnout interventions., Methods: The Western Section of the American Urological Association created an electronic, 29 question workforce survey. Several questions focused on assessing the level of urologist burnout, prevalence of work sponsored burnout interventions and efficacy of specific interventions., Results: A total of 440 responses were received (25.9% response rate); 82.2% of responders were male. The majority of urologists noted some level of burnout (79.5%) with no significant difference between those who reported no burnout vs some level of burnout (p=0.30). The most commonly tried interventions to reduce burnout were participating in regular physical exercise (76.6%), reading nonmedical literature (67.1%) and decreasing or modifying work hours (52.3%). The interventions most frequently cited as "very effective" were hiring a scribe (62.5%), regular exercise (56.1%) and participating in 1-on-1 gatherings with colleagues outside of work (44.6%). There were no significant differences noted when comparing "very effective" interventions by gender. The interventions most frequently cited as not effective were stress or burnout seminars (26.9%) and meditation/mindfulness training (11.5%); 42.5% reported workplace interventions to help prevent or reduce burnout., Conclusions: Certain practice-changing and personal burnout interventions were noted to be "very effective" in decreasing burnout. Fewer than half of responders noted workplace sponsorship of interventions. Organizational support may lead to increased participation and effectiveness of burnout interventions.

Introduction: Burnout among urologists is significant with studies estimating approximately 40% meet the criteria for burnout. This study sought to survey practicing urologists to identify factors associated with burnout and its implications., Methods: A 16-question survey was created on SurveyMonkey.com and distributed to urologists by email via their American Urological Association section. Descriptive statistics and chi-square testing were used for analysis, and logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis to assess factors associated with burnout., Results: There were 466 respondents of whom 460 were actively practicing. In all, 78% of respondents reported burnout with 45% reporting it as either moderate or severe. Respondents were 90% male and 41% fellowship trained. Females tended to report worse burnout with 4 times greater likelihood to report severe burnout on multivariate analysis (p=0.01). There was also a difference in reasons cited for burnout among genders. Females most often cited lack of personal time (51%) while males most often complained about insurance and regulations (62%). Initial analysis did not show a difference based on fellowship. Multivariate analysis revealed a possible protective role of fellowship training with nonfellowship trained urologists twice as likely to report moderate burnout (p=0.017)., Conclusions: A large number of urologists are experiencing burnout. This affects patient interaction and planned time to retirement. Most urologists do not have interventions in place to assess or prevent/change their levels of burnout. Further investigation and intervention aimed at physician wellness need to occur to prevent the worsening of this trend.

Introduction: Urological practices vie for a small number of graduating urology residents every year. In this study we determine the most desirable characteristics that current urology residents seek upon first-time employment., Methods: A 19-question survey was created and e-mailed to all 124 ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) accredited urology residencies in the United States. This link was forwarded to the urology residents for the 2013-2014 academic year., Results: A total of 232 responses were obtained, comprised of 187 from male residents (80.6%) and 43 from female residents (18.5%). Residents were primarily interested in practicing in a large urban area (153 of 232, 65.9%) or suburban setting (140, 60.3%), and 24 considered a rural location (10.3%). Female respondents were significantly more likely to consider a rural environment (p = 0.02). The most important choices when choosing a practice were geographic location (116 of 232, 50%) and proximity to family (51, 21.9%). The majority were very interested in part-time or full-time use of a physician assistant or nurse practitioner (188 of 232, 81%), and only 1 was not interested (0.4%). Overall 136 residents (58.6%) stated that they would use them for clinic and office procedures., Conclusions: Most residents seek an urban or suburban setting in a group private practice. They prefer to work 40 to 60 hours per week close to their family or in a specific geographic region. Enticing residents to a rural setting may be difficult. The use of nurse practitioners or physician assistants is extremely desirable to current residents.