MDNews - Greater Kansas

THE AMERICAN UROLOGICAL A SSOCIATION noted last year that for the first time, the number of women in urology surpassed 20% of all practicing urologists under the age of 45. The field has been slow to transition into the future, starting in 1962 when the first woman became a board-certified urologist to the mid-1980s when there were reportedly fewer than 25 women urologists. In the past decade or so, more women have been entering the field. The Society of Women in Urology, for example, has a membership of more than 300 board- certified female urologists, according to its website. Dr. Glass, a native of the Kansas City area, says she decided early in her medical education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City that she wanted to perform surgery. Of all the types of surgery she trained in, she found those in urology the most fascinating, she says. She also found other aspects of the field interesting: that she could serve patients of all ages and sexes and provide clinical and outpatient procedures as well. "I enjoyed obstetrics/gynecology and general surgery specialties, but with urology I thought I could be of greater help to someone who has an embarrassing or stigmatized condition and help them feel comfortable in seeking treatment," she says. Hutchinson Clinic UROLOGY HA S HISTORICALLY BEEN A SPECIALT Y WITH MOSTLY MALE PHYSICIANS, BUT MORE WOMEN LIKE ALLISON GL A SS, MD, ARE CHOOSING TO MAKE THAT THEIR SPECIALT Y. DR. GL A SS IS JOINING THE UROLOGY DEPARTMENT WITH THE HUTCHINSON CLINIC IN SEPTEMBER. BY AMY GEISZLER-JONES Adds Urologist M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S G R E AT E R K A N S A S ■ 2 019 C O V E R S T O R Y ❰❰❰❰❰ 0 7

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