Making the connection to move urology forward

AUA’s first Global Residents Leadership Retreat has launched a long-term program to support and encourage a novel network of emerging leaders from urology associations around the world. The broad goal is to cultivate the next generation of leaders in urology, and foster a connection between residents and trainees around the world,. The one-day workshop on Thursday brought together 21 top residents from AUA domestic Sections in Canada, U.S. and Mexico, and 18 leading residents from other countries around the world.AUA Secretary John Denstedt, MD, FRCSC

“The focus was on developing leadership skills for the 40 or so top residents from around the world who will be leading our profession into the future,” said AUA Secretary John Denstedt, MD, FRCSC, professor of urology at Western University in London, Canada. “These attendees are elite residents, selected by their own national associations, who will form the core of a growing network of urology leaders who are connected personally as well as professionally, share leadership and communication skills, and share a common vision moving urology into the future.”

The AUA conceived the one-day retreat as a way to engage and connect residents, Dr. Denstedt said. The attendees were selected for both their superior clinical skills and their strong demonstrated potential for leadership in their own national organizations.

“Clinical training is critical to professional success in urology,” he said. “We have seen over and over in the AUA that developing leadership and communication skills are also vital to long-term success in our profession. The retreat is a way for the AUA to leverage and share its strengths more broadly within urology. The retreat is also a unique networking opportunity to develop relationships that could extend for decades and help guide urology into the future.”

The program focused on three core areas: the role of the leader, effective communication and leadership agility. In addition to Dr. Denstedt, retreat speakers included:

• Margaret S. Pearle, MD, PhD, FRCS, professor and vice chair of academic affairs for urology at the University of Texas Southwestern and president of the Endourological Society
• J. Brantley Thrasher, MD, FACS, executive director, American Board of Urology
• Stephen Y. Nakada, MD, FACS, chair of urology at the University of Wisconsin and 2023-2024 AUA president-elect

International attendees hailed from around the world, Dr. Denstedt noted. AUA partner societies from Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Peru, Spain, Taiwan and the United Kingdom sent representatives. Although all participants have demonstrated leadership qualities, each international society used its own criteria when selecting residents for this esteemed program—some were top prize winners, top performers in local examinations or lead authors on award-winning papers.

“We spent yesterday with an amazing group of elite residents who are the future leaders in urology around the world,” Dr. Denstedt said. “We have already scheduled a second retreat for 2025 and hope this becomes a long-lasting cornerstone of AUA’s leadership programming. We envision an alumni network that encompasses urology across the globe, emerging leaders in their own organizations who know and understand each other and can work together to guide urology to improved care and improved outcomes for patients regardless of where they live.”