The path toward a long, happy career in urology
Young Urologists Forum addresses key to success.
Developing long-term strategies to practice urology successfully and happily is a lesson best learned early. That lesson is the core of this year’s 2024 AUA Young Urologists Forum on Saturday, May 4, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Hemisfair Ballroom 2.
Seth A. Cohen, MD
“Urology has taken on the unfortunate moniker of being a high-stress specialty and having a fair amount of burnout,” Dr. Cohen said. “Being a young urology-facing group, we want to mitigate this and prevent it as best we can. We like to arm our audience with tools they can take into the future that will allow them to practice with health and satisfaction, successfully for decades.”
According to Dr. Cohen, high levels of stress and burnout in the specialty are associated with an aging population and a shortage of urologists, often resulting in long days and an increase in duties during on-call shifts, as well as challenges in electronic medical records and billing requirements and documentation.
The forum will offer attendees tools to reduce “obstacles and challenges early in your career so it doesn’t define your career,” Dr. Cohen said. Dr. Cohen’s best advice to early-career urologists? Learning coping mechanisms to allow the obstacles and challenges in the arc of a career to “come as they may” and being able to navigate those and continue to successfully treat patients. Similarly, he encourages young urologists to avoid letting the day-to-day stressors alter or limit their ability to find passion in treating people and finding joy in their purpose.
“Have avenues during your day-to-day life that fuel the validations of this very hard work and invigorate you enough to get up the next morning and do it again for another 16 hours,” he said.
The forum also will feature three dynamic speakers who will share their thoughts and experiences. They include Jennifer Miles-Thomas, MD, AUA treasurer-elect and CEO of Urology of Virginia in Charlottesville; Phillip Pierorazio, MD, section chief of urology at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia; and Alexander Kutikov, MD, FACS, chair of the department of urology at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.
As a continuation to this year’s Young Urologists Forum, the AUA will feature the new “Peer-to-Peer Discussions: Defining Your Personal Plan in Urology.” The segment will host small, roundtable discussions to explore various topics of interest in an informal and candid format. Topics include defining your purpose and mission, interpersonal dynamics (like communication and personality styles), career management and advancement, self-care and physical health and academic publishing. Each table will be led by a moderator who is also a subject matter expert.
In addition, the forum, which includes breakfast, will honor the 2024 AUA Young Urologist of the Year.
“We want young urologists to walk away inspired and hopefully have some wisdom imparted to them about tools they can use for the future that will allow them to maintain their job satisfaction for a long, long time,” Dr. Cohen said.
