University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Our residency is designed as a mentorship program. Each resident is on service with a specific attending and more or less spends the month with that attending, whether in the office or in the operating room. This means that you learn first-hand the clinical/office-based side of Urology from someone who has been doing it for years in addition to operating alongside an experienced surgeon from day one of your urology residency. Further, the mentorship approach enables the PGY-2 to be the lead surgeon in oncologic cases that residents in other programs will not experience until their PGY4 or PGY5 years. To date, 60% of our residents have entered into fellowships while 40% have entered private practice upon completion of their residency. Our case volumes are well-above average. As we only service one primary hospital, call is split evenly among the residents currently at a 1 out of 5 ratio (usually 3-4 weeknight calls and only 1 weekend call per month). Our pediatric hospital is less than a 5 minute drive from the adult hospital and we have a comprehensive pediatric surgical experience including even the most complex exstrophy cases. We alternate between 1 resident per match and 2 residents per match, with 2 residents matching in January 2012. East Tennessee is a great place to live with countless outdoors activities, a large SEC university town with great game day experiences, and a low crime rate.

We are a looking for the med student(s) that are self-motivated in all levels of life. Success in the classroom is the first indication of a motivated student and we typically only interview applicants with above average USMLE Step 1 scores. A very strong preference is given to US Graduates from allopathic medical schools. Students that do away rotations with us are also given strong preference. Once the interview rolls around, we look for the students most likely to get along with our residents and faculty. We are a relatively small training program and we pride ourselves in developing friendships among the residents and attendings, often golfing and boating on the weekends when the weather allows.

In order of importance: Hard Work Ethic, Affability/Personality, Step 1 Scores, Extracurricular activities, Dexterity/Operative skills

Study as much as possible for Step 1 and Step 2 as this is the only standardized measurement we have to evaluate all applicants on equal grounds and Urology as a specialty is becoming more and more difficult to match into. Broaden your interests and activities to make yourself more attractive to residency programs. Do an away rotation at the program you hope to match with.