Introduction
The choice of a medical specialty is a crucial step that requires certain responsibility, knowledge, and assessment. It is not enough to know the definitions or qualities that professionals should develop. A reasonable choice includes clear definitions, equipment discussions, the description of procedures, and the work of physicians. In this paper, urology will be analyzed as a branch of medicine to be chosen as a future specialty and a significant contribution to healthcare services.
Definition
An understanding of urology as a medical specialty continues to develop. Several decades ago, urologists were involved in using urine as a therapeutic method, and modern urologists can improve their potential and enlarge their services to nephrectomy, vasectomy, and cystoscopy. Today, urology is known as genitourinary surgery that provides male and female patients with surgical and medical procedures. The purpose of urologists is to improve the quality of work of the urinary tract and reproductive systems. The urinary system in men and women is represented by a bladder, urethra, ureters, and kidneys. People with such problems as prostatitis, bladder/prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction, and urinary tract infections (UTIs) address urologists and expect the best equipment and procedures to be offered.
Equipment
Depending on the procedures, urologists have to understand that the choice of instruments determines the quality of care and the level of comfort that a client experiences. In the majority of cases, speculums, dilators, and sounds are used to examine women and check the condition of the vaginal cavity. Claps may be of different types, including vascular, circumcision, and urethral, depending on the area of assessment. Forceps, scissors, and needles are necessary to complete a biopsy or remove substances. Innovations in the field of urology play an important role, and doctors have such instruments as ultrasound scanners, endoscopes, and catheters to observe the condition of internal organs. Three-dimensional printing aims at translating images into replicas to improve preoperative counseling and create effective surgical simulations. Despite the choice of an instrument, it is important to follow sterilization issues and storage conditions.
Procedures
Urologists have to be ready to work with different patients and diagnose them properly to choose a procedure. For example, vasectomy is a type of surgery that promotes birth control. Compared to a traditional procedure when a scalpel is used to cut the scrotum and seal the vas deferens, no-scalpel vasectomy is characterized by a short and less painful recovery. Surgeons use ringed clamps, forceps, scissors, and clips to finish a procedure. With the help of a cystoscope, urologists get inside the urethra or bladder and treat the infectious area. Urinary catheters are used to drain the bladder and relieve urine/clot retention. There are also ureteral balloon catheters with the help of which ureter strictures are treated.
Even though some consider the clean intermittent self-catheterization procedure uncomfortable and unpleasant, it can be easily performed with practice. Such medical intervention is crucial for mimicking normal bladder function and decreasing the risk of infection.3 More specifically, the patient needs to insert a flexible catheter into the urethra to the point when the urine starts to flow to maintain a high level of hygiene. The urine is drained directly into a toilet or an appropriate container for further removal. The self-catheterization should be repeated six or seven times per day according to the amount of residual urine. The above-mentioned eponymous indwelling balloon-retained catheter has a worldwide application for continuous urinary drainage and bleeding control during hemostasis. The main reasons for such a procedure include allowing urinary drainage in patients with neurological conditions, managing urinary incontinence in individuals with cognitive dysfunction, administering chemotherapy, and some urological surgery applications.
Physician Work
Physicians who specialize in urological diseases and treat urinary tract infections and other problems are called urologists. These medical professionals work with men and women, and their services vary. Urologists may provide counseling, assess, diagnose, develop treatment plans, and operate. They work either at local hospitals or private clinics, depending on their certification and personal interests. In today’s practice, urologists may focus on a specific area of care. For example, some pediatric urologists deal with children, urologic oncologists who work with cancer patients, and infertility experts help men and women to solve their physiological problems. Urologists perform examinations of reproductive organs and the urinary tract to identify the source of the health problem, and if additional recommendations are required, they may send patients to another professional.
Procedures to Treat Urology Diseases
People address urologists because of different reasons, either urgently or planned. For example, if a man does not want to be a father in the future, vasectomy is applied to cut and seal the tubes and prevent sperm supply. Kidney stones introduce one of the common reasons for patients to address for urological help. Sound waves break up stones if there are no restrictions or adverse effects for the patient. Nephrolithotomy also removes kidney stones surgically with a small cut on the patient’s back to reach the necessary area and pluck the substance. 3D-printed models are used in complex cases to obtain a clear explanation of the condition. Urinary incontinence is a urological disease that urologists may treat with the placement of special devices into the urethra. Pelvic slings and bladder neck suspension are the procedures that require surgical involvement as well.
Urologic diseases encompass a broad spectrum of health conditions associated with filtering and carrying the urine out of the body. They can harm both men and women, as well as the children of different age groups, affecting a very particular part of the human body. However, recent innovations in MRI technology provide a significant advancement in diagnostic technology. For instance, the improved system enables superior diagnostic quality, along with more precise identification of abdominal pathologies, such as in the prostate. The enhanced identification of prostate cancer recurrence is also allowed by detecting the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) shown by the majority of prostate cancers. In addition, the combined efforts of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine are expected to generate an artificial kidney in the future.
Specialty Choice
The reasons to become a urologist vary, depending on personal interests, knowledge, and available opportunities. Today, millions of people around the globe need high-quality urological services. A certified urologist could work with men, women, and children and provide either counseling, neurological, therapeutic, or surgical help. To be a urologist is not only to be an expert in the problems related to urinary tract infections and reproduction challenges. It is also necessary for a physician to communicate and support patients and their families because the conditions under which people address this specialist provoke many emotional and psychological concerns.
Conclusion
In general, urology is a specialty that includes the treatment of multiple disorders among women, men, and children. Specialists in this field have to demonstrate their knowledge and skills and understand the needs of their clients. Urological education contains several subjects and clinical aspects, like equipment, diseases, and procedures. Urologists contribute to public health in many ways, and the evaluation of their work is always a good start for a professional medical assistant.
Bibliography
Bernstein, Darryl Ethan, and Brettt Sydney Bernstein. “Urological Technology: Where Will We Be in 20 Years’ Time?” Therapeutic Advances in Urology 10, no. 8 (2018): 235-242.
Feneley, Roger C. L., Ian B. Hopley, and Peter N. T. Wells. “Urinary Catheters: History, Current Status, Adverse Events and Research Agenda.” Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology 39, no. 8 (2015): 459-470.
Mathews, David A. P., Andrew Baird, and Marc Lucky. “Innovation in Urology: Three Dimensional Printing and Its Clinical Application.” Frontiers in Surgery 7(2020).