Department of Urology
Last Updated: 1/29/02
Disclaimer, Internet Technology Policy, Network Publishing Guidelines, UT Home Page
The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution.

Applicant:

 

Thank you for your inquiry regarding the urology residency program here at the University of Tennessee in Memphis.  The University of Tennessee undergraduate campus is located in Knoxville, Tennessee, approximately 350 miles east of Memphis.  The UT Memphis campus contains all the colleges of the University of Tennessee related to health care; including the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy and Allied Health.

 

Our urology residency program is five years in duration, with the first  year being involved in General Surgery . The last four years are spent in Urology.  The  pre-urology year is provided by the University of Tennessee in Memphis from the Department of Surgery.  Supervision of the PGY-1 year resident is a joint responsibility of the Departments of Surgery and Urology.  Rotations during this year are established by the Department of Urology.

 

The PGY-1 level resident will spend 12 months in General Surgery rotations including trauma.

 

The University of Tennessee staffs a fully accredited level one trauma center.  It currently ranks as the second busiest trauma center in the United States.  All genitourinary trauma is managed by the Department of Urology.

 

Should you match into our urology residency, you will automatically be placed into the pre-urology general surgery segment.  It is not necessary for you to apply separately or to interview with the Department of Surgery; although, such an interview can be arranged if you so desire.  It will be necessary, however, for you to remain in the match for the pre-urology general surgery match. 

 

During the four years of urology, there are multiple clinical rotations utilizing various hospitals.  These clinical rotations are as follows: (1) University Hospital rotation, which involves a combination of hospitals including Baptist Memorial Hospital, The Med Hospital and the UT Bowld Hospital. (2) Veterans Administration Hospital, (3) LeBonheur Children's Hospital and St. Jude Hospital, (4) Methodist Hospital, (5) VA Stone Center/VA Neurourology Center.  All of these facilities are within walking distance of each other with the exception of Baptist Hospital, which is approximately 20 minutes away by car.  Free parking is provided.

 

Our academic offices as well as the resident offices are located at 1211 Union Ave. Suite 340 adjacent to the Methodist Hospital.  It is in this area, where each resident is assigned  individual office space and a locker.  Each resident has access to computers, phones, a urologic library, copy machine, fax machine, secretarial support and other ancillary personnel . A state-of-the-art research facility of greater than 10,000 square feet is also available to residents.

 

First year (PGY-2) urology residents will be assigned eight months at the Veterans Administration Hospital and four months on the University rotation (The Med, UT Bowld Hospital and Baptist Memorial Hospital).  Second year (PGY-3) urology residents will spend four months at Methodist Hospital, four months on the University rotation and four months in Pediatric Urology at LeBonheur Children's Hospital and St. Jude Hospital.  Third year (PGY-4) urology residents will rotate for four months on the University rotation, four months at the Methodist Hospital, and will spend four months at the Veterans Administration Hospital in the Stone Center and the Neurourology Center.  The fourth year (PGY-5) urology residents serve as chief residents at the Veterans Administration Hospital for four months, the University rotation for four months and at the Pediatric Hospitals (LeBonheur/St.  Jude) for four months.

 

The Memphis Veterans Administration Hospital, with 1,000 beds, is one of the largest veterans hospitals in the country.  In addition, connected to our Veterans Hospital, is a recently completed Veterans Administration Spinal Cord Injury Hospital, with an additional 130 beds.  Of note, the urology portion of the VA Hospital is approximately 15,000 square feet.  In this space, we have state-of-the-art equipment, including five operating rooms.  Each operating room is equipped with OEC urologic fluoroscopy tables, Holmium laser, cryosurgery, transrectal ultrasound, renal and abdominal ultrasound equipment are all available, as well as other state-of-the-art urologic equipment for endourology and laparoscopic urology.  One of the operating rooms is specifically designed with radiographic equipment for percutaneous surgery.  One of the other rooms, besides the five operating rooms, contains a secondgeneration Dornier lithotripter for ESWL.  We also have state-of-the-art video urodynamics performed at the Neurourology suite in the VA Hospital.  Our VA Hospital is also a regional referral center for stone disease and for prostate cancer.

 

The University Hospitals includes the Regional Medical Center, which includes the Trauma Center, as well as the UT Bowld Hospital and Baptist Memorial Hospital.  The UT Bowld Hospital and Baptist Hospital are primarily utilized for private patient care.  The Methodist Hospital has 800 bed complexes, primarily utilized for care of private patients, as well as maintaining a very active charity service for resident education.  The LeBonheur Children's Hospital has 350 beds and the St. Jude's Cancer and Pediatric Hospital has greater than 300 beds, as well as being a state-of-the-art research facility.

 

The urology department has 10 full-time faculty members.  Dr. Mitchell Steiner is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Urology and Dr. Robert Wake is Associate Professor and Vice Chairman who serves as the Residency Program Director of the Department of Urology.  The remainder of the faculty, with the exception of two full-time pediatric urologists, are involved in adult urology with special interests in uro-oncology, laparoscopic and endourology, female urology, neurourology, erectile dysfunction and infertility.  All urologic sub-specialities are covered.  Residents are certified for lithotripsy, laparoscopic urology, endourology, various types of laser surgery, as well as all other aspects of training at the completion of this program.

 

All aspects of urological surgery are available in sufficient volume to provide excellent training.  In fact, in the majority of index cases, we exceed the 90th percentile.  Staff supervision is provided in all of the rotations.  However, the residents actually perform the cases in over 90% of the surgical procedures performed at the various institutions, particularly at the VA Hospital, University rotation and Methodist Hospital.

 

 Our conference schedule is best evaluated by your perusal of the enclosed representative schedule.  Changes in this schedule occur only for advantageous reasons, such as visiting professorships.  At least once per year and usually twice per year, we have exciting visiting professors.  Also, every other year, we have a major reunion for the urology residents from previous years, which allows everyone to stay in contact to see how everyone who had come through the program is continuing to succeed.  First year urology residents enjoy their time when they instruct the first year medical students in the gross anatomy lab.  This is done when the students begin dissection of the abdomen and continues through dissection of the pelvis and perineum.  Each PGY-2 urology resident instructs four students on one cadaver.  This occurs during November and December for a period of approximately six to eight weeks.  Following a one-hour lecture on the relevant anatomy, the dissection is performed three mornings weekly from 9:00 a.m. until noon.  Although slightly disruptive to the routine schedule, we have found this to provide an extremely valuable review of genitourinary anatomy, which results in more rapid adaptation by the resident to urological surgical procedures.

 

Hopefully after reflecting upon the contents of this information, you will continue to have an interest in our urology program.  If so, please complete and submit an application through ERAS.  Our deadline for accepting applications is October 1.  Interviews are granted by invitation only. 

 

Should you have any questions following submission of your application, please contact Trish Phelan, Education Coordinator, at (901) 448-1026.  Our fax number is (901) 448-1122. 

The Department of Urology

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Text Box: Residency