Program Overview

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Urology Residency Program

The UBC Department of Urologic Sciences residency program is one of the top Urologic training programs in Canada, offering an unprecedented opportunity for students to be trained in a high intensity, high volume, academic environment rich with interesting and complex clinical cases meshed closely with a world class Urologic research environment at the forefront of discovery.

Program Overview

Under the direction of Program Director, Dr. Chris Nguan, the residency program offers an exceptional training experience aimed at producing best-in-class graduates who launch successful careers in academia or independent practice. The residency program is a five-year commitment, comprised of two years of core surgical training followed by three years of specialized training.

Program Structure

• Surgical Foundations and Urology Foundations occupy the majority of the first 24 months of training and includes rotations in urology, as well as allied specialties such as general and vascular surgery, intensive care and radiology.
• PGY2 trainees are required to write the Royal College Principles of Surgery and the LMCC II qualifying examination.
• The Urology Foundations program is structured so as to allow the trainee to meet eligibility requirements for American Board of Urology certification following graduation, should the trainee so desire.

Urology Core and Transition to Practice Phases

• The trainee will circulate amongst our 5 major teaching hospitals, with exposure to the complete range of Urologic subspecialty areas including: Minimally Invasive Surgery / Robotics, Transplantation, Oncology, Endourology and Stone Disease, Neurourology, Reconstruction, Gender Affirmation Surgery, Pediatrics, and Infertility/Andrology/Mens Health.
• Community rotations, selectives, electives, QA/QI and scholarly pursuit rotations are all offered during these phases as well.
• A wide variety of subspecialty clinics and ORs are available for trainees to attend with world class faculty supervising.

Certification

• After completing the minimum requirements for training and meeting all mandated EPAs, trainees are required to sit the Royal College certifying examination, which includes a comprehensive multiple choice and OSCE examination required for certification as a urological surgeon.

Education

• Education is paramount in this Resident-centric training program, and teaching comes in the form of clinical point-of-care feedback in the clinics and the OR as well as more formal teaching in weekly half-day of structured class time, city-wide grand rounds, case-based and indication rounds, and critical inquiry research projects under the preceptorship of one of our faculty urologists.

Scholarly Activities

• Trainees are encouraged to pursue scholarly activities throughout their training under mentorship of either Urologic faculty or the wide range of key opinion leaders within the UBC Faculty of Medicine.
• Topics range from oncology, transplantation, pediatrics, endourology, robotics, reconstruction, medical education, basic sciences, health economics and translational medicine.

Funding and Support

• Trainees are funded to attend regular meetings and courses including AUA Review Course, McGill oncology course, Northwest Urological Society meeting, AUA annual meeting, Canadian Urological Association meeting, Western Section of the AUA meeting, the EAU exchange, and QUEST.
• Residents receive a print copy of Campbell’s Urology and a subscription to the AUA Update series on admission to the Program.
• Loupes are also purchased for Residents to promote their use during radical prostatectomy, transplantation and pediatrics cases, amongst others.

Program Culture

• Despite being a world class, high volume Urologic center, there are relatively few fellows circulating through the Department.
• The Program is recognized for its Resident-focussed educational program.

Workload and Support

• Workload for trainees is variable and service commitments can be intermittently demanding, however call schedules target 1 in 4, and Urology call is taken from home.
• There is ample support while on call and on service from peers in your training cohort as well as senior residents.

Evaluations and Feedback

• Evaluations are collected through the Entrada platform as administered by the UBC PGME office.
• A Resident Report Card is available for formative faculty feedback as a debriefing methodology post procedure.
• Quarterly PD check-in ITERS are also issued to trainees so as to maintain a strong connection with the Program Director.

About Vancouver

Vancouver is consistently ranked one the world’s most livable cities. The bustling downtown core is just minutes from world-renowned ski resorts, pristine beaches and natural forest.

Rankings and Recognition

• Capital of Food: Vancouver – The Economist’s1843 (2018)
• Best Places to Live and Work – Movie Maker Magazine (2018)
• 2nd Best Country Globally: Canada – US News & World Report (2017)
• #1 Highest-Rated Destination Site for a Business Meeting – STR’s DestinationMAP (2017)
• Best in Destinations Canada – Travel Weekly Readers’ Choice Awards (2017)
• 2017 Destination of the Year: Canada – Travel + Leisure (2017)
• Best Cities in the World – Conde Nast Traveler (2017)
• #1 Startup City in the World – PeoplePerHour Startup City Index (2017)
• 3rd Most Liveable City in the World – Global Liveablity Report (2017)
• Favourite Canadian City – Travel Press Agents’ Choice Awards (2017)
• One of the World’s Best City Beaches: English Bay – The Guardian (2016)
• Best Destination in Canada – Travel Weekly Readers’ Choice Awards (2014, 2015)
• Top 10 cities in the USA and Canada – Travel + Leisure (2013)
• Best quality of living in North America, fifth best quality of living in the world – Mercer (2012)
• Best Airport in North America – The World Airport Awards (2011)
• World’s most livable city – Economist Intelligence Unit (2010)

Innovative Companies Born in Vancouver

• Hootsuite – social media management system with more than seven million users in 175 countries.
• Arc’Teryx – technical outdoor apparel company
• Lululemon – yoga wear company
• Herschel Supply Co. – trendy backpacks and duffel bags (sales soared by 900 percent between 2010 and 2011)
• Flickr – image and video hosting website
• Slack – productivity and communication platform for organizations
• Plenty of Fish – free online dating website employing 66 people in Vancouver
• Mountain Equipment Co-Op – outdoor recreation apparel cooperative founded in 1971, now across Canada
• Lions Gate Films – one of the most successful film distributors in the world, founded here in 1997
• Greenpeace – international environmental organization, founded here in 1972
• Indochino – online menswear company
• Native – purveyors of foam form shoes.
• Six Hundred Four – a boutique shoe gallery with shoes designed by local artists. A chunk of the proceeds go to charity

Vancouver by Numbers

• PlentyOfFish employs over 75 staff in Vancouver, and deals with the romance of 60 million users
• HootSuite has close to 1,000 staff located in Vancouver and worldwide, and more than 15 million users in more than 175 countries
• Vancouver boasts more than 1,500 yoga classes a week—not bad for a city of only 600,000
• Amazon has 50,000 square feet of office space set to open by 2020, and aims to add 1,000 tech jobs
• Going local: 49% new local food and green jobs have been introduced since 2010
• By 2020 the city will require all new buildings to be constructed with carbon neutral operations. Since 2007, there has been a 43% decrease in greenhouse gases (per square mile) from new buildings.