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Clinical Experience - Urology Residency Program
Ochsner’s urology residency has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. What was once a combined residency with Ochsner and LSU has become a stand-alone residency since 2015. The primary clinical site within the Ochsner residency is the Main Campus on Jefferson Highway. This is a busy tertiary referral center and is also the site of the recently expanded MD Anderson Benson Cancer Center as well as the site for the resident pediatric rotation, which formally occurs during the PGY 3 year. There are two community urology rotations, Ochsner Baptist and Ochsner Kenner. Both sites are autonomously staffed by clinical faculty independent of the Main Campus, which offers residents a breadth of experiences across varying clinical care facilities. In 2023, Ochsner opened a new state-of-the-art ambulatory facility, OMC Clearview, which is currently an outpatient only experience in which residents work with faculty in clinic, procedure suites and the operating room.
It is worth mentioning that although the Ochsner residency educational footprint has expanded in recent years, overnight call duties are limited to the Main Campus only. The PGY-1 residents spend 6 months in general surgery and 6 months on the urology service. During the urology rotation as a PGY-1, overnight call duties are restricted. The level of residency supervision varies across rotations and level of training. In the operating room, the residents are supervised in all operative procedures. The complexity of the procedure, the resident’s previous experience with similar procedures, and the level of training determine the level of supervision.
The objective of the PGY 1 year is to learn how to manage surgical patients. This includes post-operative care as well as acute surgical issues. The resident should also become familiar with the basic principles of urology.
The Educational Objectives of the PGY 2 are to learn the elements of office urology, skills of urological diagnosis, pre-and postoperative care, radiologic imaging including ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, radionuclide studies of the genitourinary tract, and neuro-urologic and urodynamic assessment of the lower urinary tract under the direction of the staff and senior residents. At the conclusion of this year, the resident should master the evaluation of all urgent and emergent urological consultations as well as develop a strong base in endoscopic urologic surgeries. The PGY 2 resident also assists in major urologic surgeries and works closely with the other residents and staff in preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care.
The third year in urologic training is designed to provide six months of exclusive pediatric training and education. In addition to pediatrics, the PGY 3 year includes an enhancement of the goals and objectives of the second year of training with more responsibility in the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative management of all urological cases. The resident performs more difficult endoscopic and open surgical procedures under staff supervision. This resident may serve as the first assistant to the chief resident in the major urological surgical procedures.
The PGY 4 year includes an enhancement of the goals and objectives of the first three years of training with more responsibility in preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative management of all urological cases. The resident should perform procedures in the outpatient clinic, endoscopy department, and in the ambulatory outpatient surgical and endoscopy center with staff supervision. The resident enhances his surgical judgment and operative skills performing major urologic cases with staff supervision and functions as a chief resident when the chief resident is on vacation or on educational leave. This year of training provides the resident with an opportunity to help educate the younger residents and medical students. Opportunities for developing leadership skills will be present throughout the year.
The fifth year of training in the program involves being chief resident with the opportunity to exhibit leadership skills and assist the staff with coordination of didactic and educational courses within the department. This year is designed to enhance the diagnostic ability, surgical judgment and operative skills as outlined in the goals and objectives for the first four years of urologic training. The chief resident is given responsibility in such areas as patient care, teaching, organization and administration based on their skill and experience. The chief resident is coordinator of all surgical schedules and is the surgeon on all major cases and may elect to be an assistant to younger residents after consultation with appropriate staff regarding the complexity of the procedure. The goal of the chief resident is to enhance his or her surgical skills and decision making along with leadership qualities in order for the resident to practice independently upon graduation.
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