A Survey of Ethically Challenging Issues in Urological Practice

Purpose: We surveyed ethical attitudes among urological and nonurological practitioners, allowing for thought and discussion regarding ethical issues in a larger audience.Materials and Methods: With input from an academic urologist, a senior medical student and a hospital ethics committee member, a survey was created which asked for multiple choice responses to 3 demographic questions (practice type, age, location) and 10 ethically challenging clinical questions. Surveys were distributed online or via mail to 5 groups including academic urologists, urologists in private practice, medical students, hospital risk managers/attorneys and members of a bioethical society. Surveys were analyzed according to demographic variables.Results: Surveys were sent out to 1,447 individuals and 340 responses were received (24%). There were statistically significant differences in the responses to several questions based on practice type, age and practice location. There was a lack of consistency in answer choices with grea...