The PGY-1 year consists of 3 months of general surgery core rotations, 3 months of surgical subspecialty rotations (such as SICU, Plastic Surgery, and Trauma) and the remaining 6 months are spent on the Urology service at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Academic Medical Center.  This first postgraduate year emphasizes acquisition of general surgical skills and knowledge of pre- and postoperative management, circulatory physiology (including the effects of shock and principles of hemostasis), physiology of surgical stress, and anesthesia principles.  During the 6 months on the Urology service, the PGY-1 resident begins to learn and practice the essential knowledge and skills of “Office Urology,” including laboratory evaluation, interpretation of common radiologic and diagnostic tests, treatment of common urologic illnesses, and development of management plans and follow-up.  During this year, the resident also begins to learn and practice basic outpatient office procedures, such as cystoscopy, urodynamics, and TRUS prostate biopsy.  This year of training is designed to enhance resident education and to prepare residents for the practice of Urology.  The Urology Department also enrolls its two PGY-1 residents in the American College of Surgery-sponsored Fundamentals of Surgery Curriculum – a web-based, interactive, modular curriculum comprised of >100 case scenarios designed to teach and strengthen the above surgical principles.  During the final month of their PGY-1 year, the residents also attend the annual Fundamentals in Urology Conference sponsored by the American Urological Association’s Office of Education.

The PGY-2 year represents the resident’s entrance into full-time urological training.  The resident spends 6 months at the Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Academic Medical Center honing their evaluation and management of common urologic disease processes.  They also expand their surgical skills by performing a variety of endoscopic and other minor surgical procedures under senior resident and faculty supervision and direct operative assistance.  The other 6 months are spent on the private rotation at the Willis-Knighton Health System.  Residents work one-on-one with faculty, both in their private clinics and in the operating room, in an apprenticeship model.  Most of the rotation is spent performing pediatric urologic cases and as assistants in complex female, reconstructive, and oncologic cases.

PGY-3 Urology residents rotate 6 months each at our Dean’s Affiliate Overton Brooks Veteran Affairs Medical Center and at the Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Academic Medical Center.  Residents continue to refine their abilities to perform and interpret more complex uroradiological tests, such as urologic ultrasonography and Doppler flow studies, MRI, and radionucleotide studies.  Their ability to provide diagnosis and interdisciplinary care for more complex urologic patients exponentially increases.  Transurethral resection of the bladder and prostate is taught and honed, and the resident assumes a primary role in more complex endourologic cases.  The PGY-3 Urology resident begins to demonstrate graded responsibility in assisting more junior residents and interns in urologic endoscopic diagnostic and minor surgical procedures.  The degree of technical difficulty of cases performed by the PGY-3 resident increases as the resident’s experiences, technical skills, and competence progress, as demonstrated through direct observation and supervision by faculty.

PGY-4 Urology residents assume more administrative and clinical responsibility by serving as the Senior Urology Resident for 6 months on the private Urology service at the Willis-Knighton Health System and 6 months at the Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Academic Medical Center.  While on the Willis-Knighton rotation, the resident coordinates the efficient and thorough work-up and management of hospitalized patients and coordinates Urology resident participation in educationally-valuable OR cases and outpatient clinic activities at the Willis-Knighton South and Pierremont offices.  They assume a more primary role in open and robotic complex female, reconstructive, pediatric, and oncologic cases.  While on the rotation at the Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Academic Medical Center, the PGY-4 resident is primarily responsible for the outpatient clinic operation and assisting the Chief Resident and faculty in complex oncologic, robotic, female, reconstructive, and pediatric urologic cases.  They develop skills in percutaneous nephrostomy tube placement and percutaneous calculus manipulation under real-time ultrasonographic and fluoroscopic monitoring and guidance.  The PGY-4 resident also assists and teaches junior residents in minor open and endoscopic operative cases and continues to acquire knowledge and skills in the six general competency areas.  Finally, the PGY-4 resident is responsible for coordination of Urology resident on-call scheduling.

The PGY-5 year serves as the Chief Resident year, during which they serve as the primary in female, reconstructive, percutaneous endourologic, and open and robotic oncologic cases for 6 months each at the Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Academic Medical Center and the Overton Brooks VAMC.  At both sites, the Chief is responsible for coordinating the efficient and thorough management of hospitalized patients as well as organizing and coordinating individual Urology resident assignments and participation in OR cases and outpatient clinic activities at their respective institutions.  They also supervise junior residents and 3rd- and 4th-year medical students rotating on the Urology service.  The Chief at the Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Academic Medical Center serves as the Administrative Chief Resident who coordinates other departmental administrative and educational functions such as organizing data for the monthly M&M conferences and selecting appropriate teaching cases for presentation at Grand Rounds, didactic conferences, and Journal Clubs.  The Chief Residents also assist the Program Director in regularly monitoring resident duty hours and observation of fellow residents for signs of fatigue and/or sleep deprivation.