The application rate for urology specialty compared with other specialties from 2007 to 2014 in Korea: is it influenced by social interest manifested by internet trends?

BACKGROUND: Reduced clinical exposure to urology at the undergraduate or internship level is the main explanation for the marked decrease in applicants to urology residencies. This manuscript was to access the application rate for urology specialty compared with that of other specialties and to investigate the relationship between the decreasing trend in urology applications and social interest using internet trend tests. METHODS: We reviewed data collected by the Korean Hospital Association from 2007 to 2014. We assessed internet trends using Naver Trend for domestic social interest and Google Trends for international social interest (2007 to 2014). Trend tests and Spearman correlations were used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: Among the all specialties, the application rates to obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, and occupational medicine are significantly increasing (p = 0.015, 0.012, and 0.048, respectively). Application to other specialties is mostly decreasing. The decreasing trend is highest for urology (beta = − 12.21 and p < 0.001). The application rate and domestic social interest revealed by Naver trends were significantly correlated (r = 0.786 and p = 0.021). No correlation was found between Naver trends and Google trends (r = − 0.19 and p = 0.651). CONCLUSIONS: The rate of application to urology specialty is decreasing the fastest, and this trend is related to domestic social interest. An attempt should be made to increase the number of urologic applicants. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12894-018-0375-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.