The University of Florida (UF) Department of Urology is offering three fellowship Programs: The Endourology & Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship, the Robotic Surgery and Minimally Invasive Urologic Oncology (RSMIUO) Fellowship and the Male Reproductive Medicine, Andrology & Men’s Health Fellowship. All are structured to provide a comprehensive and balanced one-year experience in advanced clinical training and research. During the year, trainees will spend time on clinical rotations and will be directly involved in the management of patients with various urologic diseases.
Program Specific Information
Endourology & Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship
Robotic Surgery and Minimally Invasive Urologic (RSMIUO) Fellowship
Male Reproductive Medicine, Andrology & Men’s Health Fellowship
General Program Information
Rotation Schedule
The fellow will have the opportunity to rotate and operate with each of the fellowship faculty throughout the year based on a schedule tailored to maximize the fellow’s clinical experiences both in the operating room as well as clinic environment.
In general, the fellow will have 4 operative and 1 research day per week. However, this may vary according to research projects chosen, fellow-specific planning with the involved faculty, and clinical needs of the department.
Teaching Responsibilities
The fellow will have an integral role in the Department of Urology and will serve as a junior faculty member including admitting and operative privileges as well as taking an equal share of faculty call responsibilities. The fellow will have incremental and independent surgical responsibility under the guidance of the fellowship directors. This responsibility will require a foundational level of technical skill and decision-making ability, as fellows are expected to progress towards independent surgical proficiency.
The fellow is also expected to participate in our departmental weekly teaching conferences. The fellow also has a formal role in the didactic curriculum of the residency program by giving lectures on genitourinary disease as it pertains to endourology and minimally invasive surgery. The fellow will give Urology Grand Rounds at some point during their fellowship year on a topic of their choice.
The program further encourages collaboration of the fellow with residents on design, conduct, presentation and publication of research projects in which they have the opportunity to assume a mentorship role.
The fellow will have exposure to unique training labs to enhance laparoscopic and robotic skills. He/she will run weekly robotic (dry lab) and simulation labs and conduct a bi-monthly laparoscopic (wet lab) training lab along with other faculty members in conjunction with urology residents.
Research
An advanced understanding of the principles of clinical research is essential to an evidence-based practice of urology as well as the fellow’s efforts to advance the field through high quality and impactful discoveries. The fellow will gain further experience in this area by interacting at departmental research conferences and through interactions with individual mentors. The research experience will also provide the fellow with an ideal background for academic success.
Opportunities for clinical, translational and basic science research are available in the areas of endourology and mechanisms of stone disease, minimally invasive surgery, urologic oncology and new cutting-edge advanced imaging techniques for prostate cancer. During the year, fellows are expected to devise a research project under the guidance of fellowship faculty and carry their research to completion, culminating in their fellowship essay manuscript. This project should be of the quality to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Upon completion of the fellowship program, the trainee will be able to meet the standard requirements for certification by the Endourological Society for either endourology or robotics/laparoscopy or combined. The fellow will be expected to maintain an accurate and comprehensive operative log through the Endourological Society case log system and will review this with the program director on a routine basis.
Official Program Training Dates
The endourology/minimally invasive surgery fellowship program is a one-year program that will begin July 1 of each academic year and will end June 30.
Hospital Overview
With campuses in Gainesville and Jacksonville, the UF and Shands Hospital (UF Health) includes six health colleges, six research institutes, two teaching hospitals, two specialty hospitals and a host of physician medical practices and outpatient services throughout north central and northeast Florida. Our mission is to promote health through outstanding and high-quality patient care, innovative and rigorous education in the health professions and biomedical sciences, and high-impact research across the spectrum of basic, translational and clinical investigation.
Nearly 900 expert UF College of Medicine and community physicians along with more than 8,000 skilled Shands nursing and support staff provide comprehensive high quality patient care, from primary care and family medicine to subspecialty tertiary and quaternary services for patients with highly complex medical conditions. The faculty from the UF College of Medicine includes nationally and internationally recognized physicians whose expertise is supported by intensive research activities. Shands’ affiliation with the UF Health Science Center (HSC) allows patients to benefit from the latest medical knowledge and technology.
FThe UF Department of Urology offers advanced care in all aspects of both pediatric and adult urology and is the premiere academic urology program in the state of Florida and a leading center in the Southeast.
The HSC is the country’s only academic health center with six health-related colleges located on a single, contiguous campus. The HSC is also a world leader in interdisciplinary research, generating 52% of UF’s total research awards.
Our vision as a preeminent academic health center is to optimize our collective expertise to improve patient care, education, discovery and the health of the community. Our success is predicated on research-based, multidisciplinary, cross-college programs. The colleges teach the full continuum of higher education from undergraduates to professional students to advanced post-doctoral students.