title: Assessment and maintenance of competence in urology.
abstract: Urology is becoming increasingly reliant on inter-disciplinary collaboration. As a result of this interaction and developments in technology, the existing system of training, certification and recertification needs revision. The skill-set required of urologists has become multidimensional. As the field of urology continues to evolve, the recognition of the need for objective and efficient certification for trainees and a recertification program for specialists has increased. Training programs need to provide a curriculum focused on knowledge, communication, cognitive and technical skills, with the inclusion of simulation-based training. For specialists, the benefits of teaching through mentorship should be evaluated, and outcome-based assessment of patient morbidity and mortality needs to be further developed and validated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosurgery & Surgical Technology, Imperial College London, St. Mary's Hospital Campus, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, UK. k.ahmed@imperial.ac.uk
authors.forename: Kamran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: Muhammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jawad
authors.forename: Prokar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dasgupta
authors.forename: Ara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Darzi
authors.forename: Thanos
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Athanasiou
authors.forename: Mohammad Shamim
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Khan
mesh_terms: D002568:Certification / Q000592:standards; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D010820:Physicians / Q000592:standards*; D014572:Urology / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards*