Urology Attending AMA

[cpants]

Young urology attending in the NE. 2 years out of training in private practice.

I saw some other specialties have threads like this, and thought I would put myself out there if you guys want any questions answered about urologic or surgical training or practice.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[AsianPersuasion]

Young urology attending in the NE. 2 years out of training in private practice.

I saw some other specialties have threads like this, and thought I would put myself out there if you guys want any questions answered about urologic or surgical training or practice.

Awesome, thank you!

What's your schedule like as a PP attending?

 

[Frogger27]

What's your ballpark salary?

At what step score would you discourage an applicant to apply Urology?

If you did not go into Urology, what specialties do you think you would have liked?

 

[SandyPants]

What drew you to Urology over other surgical subspecialties like Ortho and ENT?

 

[cpants]

Awesome, thank you!

What's your schedule like as a PP attending?

Pretty much M-F, 830-5. Home call 1:6. Probably go in to hospital at night about 1 in 5 of those calls. Weekends 1:6 involves a few hours of rounding on Sat and Sun and then call from home.

What's your ballpark salary?

At what step score would you discourage an applicant to apply Urology?

If you did not go into Urology, what specialties do you think you would have liked?

Starting salary about 325k. This year anticipate about 425k.

Below 220-225 is a stretch. Not impossible but will need an otherwise outstanding application. If you have 215 and mediocre grades and minimal research -- it's not gonna happen, sorry.

Liked general surgery, GI, OB/GYN.

What drew you to Urology over other surgical subspecialties like Ortho and ENT?

ENT is too gross -- snot, earwax, mucous -- makes me want to vom. I'll take pee and DRE's any day.

Ortho is cool, but I just never really got into it. I like working with soft tissue surgically.

 

[You shall know the Truth]

I have never thought of uro, I would like a procedure heavy job (ophthal, surgeries of all sorts). What procedures/surgeries do you perform and how often. What don’t you like about uro and does it have a use in medical missions? Thank you.

 

[pbrocks15]

Pretty much M-F, 830-5. Home call 1:6. Probably go in to hospital at night about 1 in 5 of those calls. Weekends 1:6 involves a few hours of rounding on Sat and Sun and then call from home.


Starting salary about 325k. This year anticipate about 425k.

Below 220-225 is a stretch. Not impossible but will need an otherwise outstanding application. If you have 215 and mediocre grades and minimal research -- it's not gonna happen, sorry.

Liked general surgery, GI, OB/GYN.



ENT is too gross -- snot, earwax, mucous -- makes me want to vom. I'll take pee and DRE's any day.

Ortho is cool, but I just never really got into it. I like working with soft tissue surgically.

Scores that low?? I felt like I haven't heard of many Urology residents with scores under 240 (I understand that there are though). Is this back maybe when you took the exam or are you interviewing students as well?

Thanks for doing this!

 

[Oso]

Starting salary about 325k. This year anticipate about 425k

 

[You shall know the Truth]

Ballpark how many butts have you raided

What does this mean?

 

[DBV]

What does this mean?

They said ama and I want to know how many notches on that finger belt.

 

[Dr. Scribe]

What does this mean?

Due to the similar phrasing of these two sentences:

What's your ballpark salary?

And

Ballpark how many butts have you raided

I can only assume he/she means, "How many people have you slept with?"

But, I could be wrong.

 

[Dr. Scribe]

To OP: Favorite dick joke?

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

Due to the similar phrasing of these two sentences:


And



I can only assume he/she means, "How many people have you slept with?"

But, I could be wrong.

They're talking about DREs lol

 

[akuko2]

Do you have any colleges practicing in the military and if so do they complain about skill atrophy?

 

[DBV]

Do you have any colleges practicing in the military and if so do they complain about skill atrophy?

Dont know about OP but my college never practiced in the military. Hope this helps!

 

[RTD]

Pretty much M-F, 830-5. Home call 1:6. Probably go in to hospital at night about 1 in 5 of those calls. Weekends 1:6 involves a few hours of rounding on Sat and Sun and then call from home.

8 to 5 for a surgical speciality? Is that common?

 

[Iris42]

Thanks for doing an AMA! What are the most desirable/popular fellowships right now? What are some of the undesirable ones and why?

 

[Dr. Scribe]

They're talking about DREs lol

I know lol Poor attempt at humor on my part

 

[Gilakend]

Awesome, thank you!

What's your schedule like as a PP attending?

I laughed so hard at this. I don't know if you meant it as a double entendre but this post is not getting the credit it deserves.

 

[You shall know the Truth]

I laughed so hard at this. I don't known if it meant it as a double entendre but this post is not getting the credit it deserves.

Double entendre indeed. I missed this one entirely, good catch.

 

[Money Moniker]

Who is better at skin pathology of the male genitals, derm or urology?

 

[Donald Juan]

Scores that low?? I felt like I haven't heard of many Urology residents with scores under 240 (I understand that there are though). Is this back maybe when you took the exam or are you interviewing students as well?

Thanks for doing this!

I've seen many recent applicants with 220s step 1 match, but like cpants said you need an otherwise stellar application (high step 2, research, strong grades, good letters, good personality on aways/interviews), and you still aren't getting attention from the top programs. The average is usually in the 240s.

 

[cpants]

I have never thought of uro, I would like a procedure heavy job (ophthal, surgeries of all sorts). What procedures/surgeries do you perform and how often. What don’t you like about uro and does it have a use in medical missions? Thank you.

Urology is very procedural in the office -- mostly cystoscopies, vasectomies, transrectal biopsies, minor lumps and bumps. We also operate a lot. Many endoscopic surgery for stones, BPH, bladder cancer, and if you have an interest, definite opportunity to do major open and laparoscopic surgery. Yes, I would think there would be opportunity for mission work.

Scores that low?? I felt like I haven't heard of many Urology residents with scores under 240 (I understand that there are though). Is this back maybe when you took the exam or are you interviewing students as well?

Thanks for doing this!

I'm not currently in an academic setting. My chief year 2 years ago we did interview some candidates in the 215-225 range. You need a very special application to have a good chance with those scores. Stellar performance on audition rotations also helps.

To OP: Favorite dick joke?

What does a ghost call his penis?

.... a BOOOOO-ner

Do you have any colleges practicing in the military and if so do they complain about skill atrophy?

No information on this, sorry.

8 to 5 for a surgical speciality? Is that common?

I'd say it's relatively common. The office is only open from 8-5. I go in early on OR days around 7 but usually get out earlier. My partners and I take turns making rounds on all the inpatients, so it helps that I don't have to go in at 6 and round every day.

Thanks for doing an AMA! What are the most desirable/popular fellowships right now? What are some of the undesirable ones and why?

Most desirable are female and endourology (stones) due to demand. I'd say less desirable would be oncology or robotics fellowships due to market saturation. Unlikely to be able to get a job doing exclusively oncology or robotic surgery in today's market. Likely will do a large amount of general urology also. This is a matter of opinion though.

Who is better at skin pathology of the male genitals, derm or urology?

Derm. We can take care of the basics, but if I don't know what the lesion is or the path report is something weird, I send it out to derm.

 

[AsianPersuasion]

I laughed so hard at this. I don't know if you meant it as a double entendre but this post is not getting the credit it deserves.

 

[Newyawk]

are great step scores, good clinical grades, good letters, good interview enough to match in NYC? or is research really looked at favorably?

 

[akuko2]

I'm a MSII and have contributed a very significant amount of time to a bench research project in the field of Uro. Do you think residency programs will honor that commitment even if it only results in a few abstracts/poster presentations, or would it be better to jump ship and try to produce more case reports and clinical research.

 

[akuko2]

are great step scores, good clinical grades, good letters, good interview enough to match in NYC? or is research really looked at favorably?

Check out this spreadsheet with all the applicants stats and interview invites/matches for last year:

Urology Match 2017-2018 Spreadsheet | Urology Match

Edit: I don't see anyone who matched with out any research.

 

[Newyawk]

Check out this spreadsheet with all the applicants stats and interview invites/matches for last year:

Urology Match 2017-2018 Spreadsheet | Urology Match

Edit: I don't see anyone who matched with out any research.

thanks for this. its really tough to understand your chances just based purely on numbers. some people were offered interviews at more than 60% of programs they applied to while others were offered at fewer than 30% with AOA, research, etc.

 

[cpants]

are great step scores, good clinical grades, good letters, good interview enough to match in NYC? or is research really looked at favorably?

Research will be necessary for most of the places (NYU, Columbia, Cornell, etc.). You may have a chance at some of the lesser programs (Brookdale for example, not sure if it even still exists).

 

[cpants]

I'm a MSII and have contributed a very significant amount of time to a bench research project in the field of Uro. Do you think residency programs will honor that commitment even if it only results in a few abstracts/poster presentations, or would it be better to jump ship and try to produce more case reports and clinical research.

If the projects are meaningful then keep going. At this point it's only 5 months until applications go in, so while I wouldn't "jump ship", it would be best at this time to focus on something you can get done fast -- ie. chart review, etc.

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

Do you like DOs? Y/N

 

[cpants]

Do you like DOs? Y/N

Yea I like DO's. Very hard to match allopathic uro though.

 

[mntrzl]

Thanks for doing this. I have a few question for you.

1. Opinion on a research year? Would taking one make up for a below-average step score if one already had a strong research history?
2. How important are clinical grades? Would someone with majority HPs and very few or no honors be able to match assuming average STEP score and relatively strong research background?
3. What are your thoughts on doing a fellowship if ultimate goal is PP?

 

[cpants]

Thanks for doing this. I have a few question for you.

1. Opinion on a research year? Would taking one make up for a below-average step score if one already had a strong research history?
2. How important are clinical grades? Would someone with majority HPs and very few or no honors be able to match assuming average STEP score and relatively strong research background?
3. What are your thoughts on doing a fellowship if ultimate goal is PP?

1. Research year almost never the answer. Will not make up for low step or grades unless you are getting first author pubs in good journals. That’s probably not going to be the case. Even if you get multiple abstracts and lesser articles out of it, the expectation is you should be able to do that without having taken a year off. Your competition did it during their off hours.
2. Clinical grades are not that important unless there is an alarming trend. As far as criteria for residency goes I would rank the criteria from most important to least important as follows: Board scores, research, clinical grades, intangibles, letters. The caveat is if you have a big red flag in any of these categories, especially the letters, it will sink you.
3. Fellowship is necessary only if you want a career in academics, are trying to break into a very competitive job market(New York, Boston, LA), or were not trained adequately in an area of interest. The best job market is in general urology.

 

[Hemorrage]

Most desirable are female and endourology (stones) due to demand. I'd say less desirable would be oncology or robotics fellowships due to market saturation. Unlikely to be able to get a job doing exclusively oncology or robotic surgery in today's market. Likely will do a large amount of general urology also. This is a matter of opinion though.

Any reason why endourology has such high demand? Don't general urologists deal with most stone cases?

What are your thoughts on reconstructive urology fellowships? Is there demand for that?

 

[cpants]

Any reason why endourology has such high demand? Don't general urologists deal with most stone cases?

What are your thoughts on reconstructive urology fellowships? Is there demand for that?

Yes general handles most stones. Stones are just very common.

Recon has very bad job market. Path is rare and too many fellowships.

 

[Durty-Trixxx]

Kind of a bizarre question but have you ever worked with a very attractive female uro?

Seems like it would create a weird vibe with patients --- into the exam room walks a sexy lady who's gonna charge you to inspect your ding-a-ling and rectum

 

[MedicineZ0Z]

Young urology attending in the NE. 2 years out of training in private practice.

I saw some other specialties have threads like this, and thought I would put myself out there if you guys want any questions answered about urologic or surgical training or practice.

So PSAs, do we order them?

 

[Donald Juan]

Kind of a bizarre question but have you ever worked with a very attractive female uro?

Seems like it would create a weird vibe with patients --- into the exam room walks a sexy lady who's gonna charge you to inspect your ding-a-ling and rectum

I don't want to hijack the thread from the OP, but this is a ridiculous question. Of course we don't allow women to become urologists. A couple of ultra liberal programs out in California allow women, but they still have to be unattractive.

 

[Elessar]

.

 

[mistafab]

Hey - thanks for doing this!

Research wise, how urology specific does it have to be to “count?” As in, if someone has a few pubs in broad surg research or quality improvement projects, does that have any carryoever if applying for uro?

What is your favorite work activity/procedure/interest?

 

[badasshairday]

What is your relationship with IR like?

 

[Señor Científico]

Is this a pretty typical starting salary? What kind of range were you offered coming out of residency?

Also, are you in a partner-track, and if so what kind of max salary are you expecting?

any insight on salary outside the NE?
how much does name of med school count, if any?

 

[ParallelLines]

1. What were the hours and schedule like in residency?
2. What in your opinion makes a good residency program?
3. What kind of procedures are considered "bread and butter" urology?
4. What are your favorite procedures?

 

[cpants]

Is this a pretty typical starting salary? What kind of range were you offered coming out of residency?

Also, are you in a partner-track, and if so what kind of max salary are you expecting?

I'm in a kind of weird PP/hosp employed hybrid. I basically already am a partner. I anticipate max of about 500K.

As far as starting salary, I was offered 220k - 340k. Keep in mind, starting offer is not the most important variable when considering offers. Much more important is income potential and likely income a few years in.

Hey - thanks for doing this!

Research wise, how urology specific does it have to be to “count?” As in, if someone has a few pubs in broad surg research or quality improvement projects, does that have any carryoever if applying for uro?

What is your favorite work activity/procedure/interest?

All research counts. Urology-specific is obviously better, but they understand that interests change over time.

My favorite is being in the OR. Urologists are surgeons, and I think most surgeons in all fields would answer the same. I have a broad general urologic practice including onc/robotics.

What is your relationship with IR like?

Very congenial.

any insight on salary outside the NE?
how much does name of med school count, if any?

The NE is usually on the lower side for salary.

Med school name counts minimal after you match for residency. Sure it helps to have Harvard on the CV, but 99% of employment decisions will be based on your skill set, recommendations, and relevant work experience.

1. What were the hours and schedule like in residency?
2. What in your opinion makes a good residency program?
3. What kind of procedures are considered "bread and butter" urology?
4. What are your favorite procedures?

1. In about 5-530, almost never out before 7-730. It was a grind.
2. One where you operate a ton. This is your only chance to learn surgery.
3. Stone cases, transurethral resection of the prostate and bladder tumors, open scrotal and penile cases, office stuff like cystoscopy, vasectomy, and TRUS biopsy.
4. My favorites are probably lap radical nephrectomies or radical orchiectomies. Very satisfying.

 

[Oh_Gee]

Young urology attending in the NE. 2 years out of training in private practice.

I saw some other specialties have threads like this, and thought I would put myself out there if you guys want any questions answered about urologic or surgical training or practice.

where do you stand on PSA and DRE screening?

 

[Iris42]

How accepting are urology programs to US seniors who need a visa, either J or H1B?

 

[Frogger27]

How much do preclinical grades/class rank matter in matching?

 

[cpants]

where do you stand on PSA and DRE screening?

Obviously a controversial topic. Prostate cancer screening is really not a yes or no answer, and people who treat it that way are oversimplifying the issue. Prostate cancer screening has been proven in RCT's to reduce prostate cancer mortality. The issue is that the number needed to screen (NNS) is very high (1200+) in population based approaches. I recommend screening to men with significant risk factors for cancers: family history, black race, agent orange exposure, etc). In men without risk factors, I also think it is reasonable in most cases after shared decision making with the patient. Men with limited life expectancy or over age 70, I strongly discourage screening.

I think the AUA Guideline is actually a very reasonable approach:
American Urological Association - Early Detection of Prostate Cancer

 

[cpants]

How accepting are urology programs to US seniors who need a visa, either J or H1B?

Don't have specific information on this, but I would guess not very accepting. It's highly competitive, so they aren't looking to get into visa issues. If you are a very special candidate, it might not sink you. I would talk to the program director at your school, and they might be able to advise you more accurately.

How much do preclinical grades/class rank matter in matching?

Preclinical grades matter much less than clinical grades. I don't think class rank is that important. Generally, they are looking at your clinical grades with emphasis on performance in surgery, OB/GYN, medicine, and urology rotations. The overall picture is also important -- ie. making sure there aren't red flags.