Message from the Chief

Gerald L. Andriole, Jr., M.D.

The Division of Urologic Surgery has a long and rich history of preparing its graduates for careers in academic urologic surgery and other urologic fields. Central to our tradition is the training of outstanding physicians who – in addition to learning the requisite skills (including the latest surgical techniques) needed to provide excellent patient care – are stimulated by the program’s spirit of inquiry and questioning.

The Urologic Surgery residency program at Washington University School of Medicine stands out among other urologic training programs for a number of reasons. Foremost, we have among our faculty the full spectrum of fellowship-trained urologic subspecialists. Since all of our faculty members link their clinical practices and research programs to their subspecialty interests, residents have the maximum opportunity to receive subspecialty training in every area of urology. As a result, residents can see how rewarding it can be to have a career that integrates day-to-day patient care issues with research investigations and residents are well prepared to made their career choice.

Through clinical practice at four hospitals – Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Barnes-Jewish West Hospital and VA Medical Center St. Louis-John Cochran Division – residents are exposed to a volume and diversity of surgical cases that is among the highest for urologic residency programs. Along with the breadth of these cases, our emphasis is on superb patient care and technological innovation. A recent example of this excellence can be seen in U.S. News & World Report’s 2008 ranking of America’s Best Hospitals: the division ranked 15th in the nation for the urology treatment it provided at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Our faculty members – a mix of younger and older urologic specialists – are also productive in their research areas, publishing approximately 120 peer-reviewed journal articles, books and book chapters a year. Over the past two years, they gave 32 presentations at meetings of the American Urological Association and World Congress on Endourology. And faculty members over the last two years have received eleven National Institutes of Health (NIH)/federal grants, two grants from the American College of Surgeons, one grant from the National Kidney Foundation and one Prostate Cancer Foundation grant.

Over the course of four years, the faculty interacts with residents in numerous teaching conferences covering a wide range of topics. Residents also select an area of laboratory research (a four-month rotation during the second year) from a variety of projects at the forefront of urological studies and participate in teaching medical students through a combination of ward rounds and clinical conferences.

As you can see, the Division of Urologic Surgery – with its outstanding fellowship-trained faculty, emphasis on mentoring, and clinical and laboratory experience – provides urologic surgery residents with training opportunities that few programs can match. I invite you to browse our web site to learn more detail about our residency at Washington University School of Medicine.

Sincerely,
Gerald L. Andriole, Jr., M.D.
Chief, Division of Urologic Surgery