Urology Workshop Offers Innovative Training for Fellows
When Cincinnati Children’s Division of Pediatric Urology launched its Urology Conference nearly a decade ago, it did so with one goal in mind: to revolutionize the conference experience for both current and future pediatric urologists.
Reaching that aim meant changing the existing conference format. Not only did they open the door for fellows to attend for free; they also abandoned the rapid-fire short presentation model. Instead, says Pramod Reddy, MD, director of the Division of Pediatric Urology at Cincinnati Children’s, this conference gives all attendees an opportunity for in-depth learning.
“We feel it is our sacred duty to the next generation of pediatric urologists that we provide them with a true Socratic type of teaching where we offer dialogue and discussion,” he says, noting that each session includes roughly an hour for presentation and an hour for discussion. “Each session is case-based, and it really reinforces the important key points that can, then, be immediately translated into clinical practice.”
This year’s conference offered a blended in-person and virtual format, making it available to providers across the globe who preferred a remote attendance option. Overall, 84 providers attended in person, and 196 participated virtually.
The conference is open to all pediatric urology providers—nurses, advanced practice nurse practitioners, physicians, residents and faculty—but it’s the approach to attendance by fellows that makes it unique, Reddy says. The division covers all conference costs including registration, accommodations and meals for all fellows from any academic institution in North America. The only cost to fellows is transportation to and from Cincinnati.
“It’s basically a free weekend of academic adventures,” he says.
Like other conferences, Cincinnati Children’s offers presentations on a myriad of topics. This year’s standing lectures took deep dives into urodynamics, pediatric kidney transplant and fertility preservation in pediatric oncology patients. In addition, Casey Seideman, MD, from Oregon Health & Sciences University, discussed diversity, inclusiveness and equality, as well as the importance of being respectful and recognizing microaggressions in the workplace.
However, one of the most impactful sessions, Reddy says, was a panel discussion focused on the management of surgical complications.
“We wanted the younger generation to see that complications happen for everybody,” he says. “But it’s not just that they’ll experience complications. We wanted them to learn from others how you get your patient back to being healthy and mitigate the complications.”
The value of the conference goes beyond didactic sessions, Reddy explains. A Friday night working dinner—concentrated this year on bladder dysfunction and ureteroceles algorithms—gives all attendees of various training levels the chance to mingle and discuss differences in clinical practice. Through these conversations, veteran practitioners share their experiences with those who are still early in their careers.
Ultimately, Reddy says, division leaders see this conference and its more in-depth format as a vehicle for making pediatric urology a more well-informed, collegial medical specialty.
“We hope this conference will provide a deeper understanding of the topics presented, as well as a global networking opportunity,” Reddy says. “Fellows and attendings alike have the opportunity to sit with colleagues from around the world—people they normally wouldn’t ever meet—to have lunch, become friends and learn from one another. It all supports better day-to-day management of patients.”
