Urology Residency Curriculum

Urology residents at Wake Forest University School of Medicine are expected to acquire knowledge in the field of urology through:
  • Didactic lectures and clinical conferences
  • The care of patients in the clinic, hospital and operating room, guided by attending supervision and in self-study

Our established basic urology curriculum provides comprehensive coverage of the major fields of urology including:

  • Anatomy and evaluation of the urologic patient
  • Renal and adrenal physiology and pathophysiology, and renal transplantation
  • Oncology
  • Female urology and neurourology
  • Benign prostatic hyperplasia
  • Infectious disease
  • Sexual function and dysfunction
  • Trauma and reconstruction
  • Stone disease and endourology
  • Infertility
  • Pediatric urology

Virtual Tour

Depending on your rotation, you may train at facilities across our system. Explore below a few of the spaces where residents of this program spend a lot of their time. Navigate the drop-down to switch rooms and use your mouse (or finger for touch screens) to rotate around the room.

Clinic on CharloisSnap Content

The curriculum follows a two-year cycle so that during the course of the full urology training, residents will have completed a complete curriculum several times before graduation.

Clinical Rotations

Year 1: Research

The research year gives residents exposure to both basic and clinical research, an opportunity that will serve them well regardless of their career track.

Year 2: Surgical and Urology Clinical Rotations

The second year of the program is dedicated to general surgery training in various clinical areas. The resident will have the opportunity to experience different surgical rotations that are valuable in providing specific surgical and patient-specific skill sets.

Years 3-6: Urology Clinical Rotations

The urology program at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is structured to provide an increasing level of experience throughout the years of clinical urology training.

Year 3: Adult Urology

Residents rotate on both of the two adult urology services at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Year 4: Pediatric Urology and Urology Subspecialties

In the first half of the year, the resident works one-on-one with the pediatric urology faculty, including outpatient evaluation and surgical management of pediatric urology disorders. In the second half of the year, the resident rotates through the subspecialty clinics within the Department of Urology.

Year 5: Pediatric Urology and Private Practice Rotation

The resident is again exposed at a higher level to pediatric urology and also spends half of this year on our affiliated private practice rotation at Moses Cone Health Care Systems assisting the attending urologists in the diagnosis and management of their patients.

Year 6: Chief Residency

The chief resident is in charge of the urology outpatient clinic and has supervision over all inpatient adult urologic patients on his or her service.

For a full detailed description of rotations please download our Urology Residency Curriculum Overview Guide.

Conferences and Didactics

In addition to the core curriculum weekly conference, the department conducts urology grand rounds, which cover a host of topics related to the practice of urology. Indications and case presentation conferences are held to discuss upcoming surgical cases in detail in an educational format.

In addition to these weekly conferences, the department also conducts:

  • Journal club
  • Multidisciplinary conferences
  • Monthly Morbidity and mortality conferences

Research Opportunities and Presentations

  • All residents in the urology training program are required to engage in scholarly activity. This is accomplished during the first year, which is dedicated to research.
  • If a resident possesses specific talents that lend themselves to participation in an ongoing basic scientific research project throughout the residency, and if it is approved by the appropriate faculty, then permission will be granted for these cases to continue the research.
  • Residents are expected to have at least one publication to complete the training program. Most residents will complete a number of projects and present their findings at national and regional meetings.
  • Residents are funded for approved meetings if they are presenting an academic paper or participating in an academic program. Intermediate-level urology residents are also supported to attend the annual American Urological Association Basic Science Review Course.
  • All residents are required to present two researched topics (in didactic lecture form) at the Wednesday morning conference each year of their residency.