As a member of the department of urology at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville, our curriculum is content-centered and problem-based and designed towards mastery of urological technical skills with a foundation built upon cognitive ability and an in-depth understanding of evidence-based care. The curriculum also allows sufficient flexibility to optimize outcomes for residents with a variety of learning styles.

Core urology knowledge is delivered by both active faculty and through trainee participation in weekly core curriculum conferences that discuss all aspects of urology as well as biweekly discussions on biostatistics and basic science topics. These biweekly discussions are facilitated by dedicated biostatistics and basic science faculty respectively in the department of urology. As well, monthly uroradiology and uropathology didactics are delivered by faculty in their respective departments.

Trainees are required to identify urological problems in patient care and research and are encouraged to address problems using solutions grounded in evidence-based techniques and peer discussions. Weekly urology grand rounds, monthly journal clubs, quality improvement and case presentation conferences serve as vital forums for problem-based learning and peer-to-peer interactions.

Residents receive patient management training in busy outpatient clinics, inpatient and consult services and in the operating room. The variety of cases performed in the urology service allows for training of a fully technically competent urologist.At weekly outcomes research conferences, trainees are allowed to work at a reasonable pace on topics of their interest, fostering collaboration as residents are mentored towards successful completion of projects, resulting in scholarly publications.

The department also has an active basic science laboratory and is accessible to all trainees to participate in corroborative projects. The research opportunity fosters innovation, out-of-the-box thinking, team work and collaboration. In addition, the trainees are assigned individual responsibilities to each of the conferences and are expected to demonstrate participation in planning, communications, operations, source feedback and continuous improvement. The conference management opportunity develops leadership skills among trainees. The curriculum also includes other important non-urology topics including fatigue recognition, personal wellness and finance, business management and more.

* Unless noted otherwise, the following rotations are at UF Health Jacksonville

Research

Active participation in research is highly encouraged. Residents and fellows have the opportunity to participate in ongoing research projects while encouraged to initiate their own scholarly ideas. In-depth guidance and counseling are provided by faculty well-versed in the area of research. Training spans the spectrum from constructing study protocols, to enrolling patients, to gathering and analyzing data, to writing abstracts and manuscripts.

The University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville encourages resident/fellow research through the availability of Dean’s Fund Research Awards and an annual Research Day, with residents and fellows from all disciplines presenting their work. Well-designed studies conducted in collaboration with the faculty have resulted in residents and fellows presenting their research at regional, national and international meetings.