Curriculum

Fellows have the opportunity to staff and independently run their own urology clinic on Friday afternoons. Here, they care for the predominantly underserved and indigent population of Central Texas. Any surgical case booked from this clinic is performed by the fellow as primary surgeon with the appropriate attending oversight.

Fellows are expected to take eight home-call weeknights and weekend days per month. The call is done at Dell Seton Medical Center, a Level I trauma center. Fellows participate in all genitourinary trauma surgeries alongside the acute care surgery team. In addition, fellows will independently assess and treat any other urologic patients needing evaluation during these call periods.

Surgical Care

Time in the operating room is split between Dell Seton Medical Center and Dell Children’s Medical Center pending case volume. Surgical case logs primarily include a high volume of urethroplasty, prosthetics and robotic reconstruction cases. View an example surgical case log.

Congruent with preoperative assessments, fellows see and examine preoperative patients, explain procedures, obtain informed consent, review cases and discuss pertinent presurgical planning with the fellowship director. Fellows progressively gain more autonomy of the surgical procedures in a primary role as they develop their skills, with advancement of responsibility at the discretion of the fellowship director.

Outpatient Clinics

Fellows rotate in the following outpatient clinics:

• Ascension Seton Surgical Group Urology
• Urology Austin South GU-Reconstruction Clinic
• Strictly Pediatrics Transitional Urology Clinic

Fellows independently assess patients during pre-procedural and follow-up evaluations. Under supervision of their preceptors, fellows evaluate patients and order therapies and diagnostic tests. Fellows also participate in consultative experiences with their preceptor in outpatient settings and discuss the patient’s indication and appropriateness for genitourinary reconstruction. 

Fellows run their own half-day general urology indigent care clinic. All cases generated from this clinic are performed by the fellow with attending supervision. 

Teaching & Learning Experiences

This program integrates fellows into the exciting learning environment of Dell Medical School, where they have the opportunity to participate in teaching and training medical students and residents from various graduate medical education programs. Fellows give lectures to medical students, surgery residents and UroGYN fellows on relevant topics that will enhance their ability to teach. 

Other learning opportunities include a weekly research article discussion where fellows critically review an “article of the week” with the fellowship director. Fellows participate in monthly GURS fellows journal club meetings, an international gathering of fellows and attendings to review chosen manuscripts. They attend faculty lectureships, urology quarterly grand rounds and other various speaking engagements. Fellows also have the opportunity to work in an industry-sponsored cadaver lab to hone their surgical skills.

Research

Research experience is an integral component of the program. Fellows are expected to present original research at national society meetings and publish original research in peer reviewed journals. There is a minimum requirement of one accepted peer-reviewed manuscript during the fellow’s tenure. Fellows run a weekly research working group and serve as the cornerstone of the program’s research enterprise. 

Conferences

Fellows prepare for and present at preoperative genitourinary reconstruction and surgery conferences, which include presentations of patients, strategy for procedural performance and review of patient outcomes. Presentations are supported by pertinent literature.

Fellows also participate in the following:

• Quarterly Dell Med urology grand rounds
• Monthly GURS journal club virtual series
• Coloplast fellows training course on male prosthetics
• Article of the week
• Research team meetings
• Dell Med faculty development lectureships