The Urology Residency Program at The New York-Presbyterian Hospital / Weill Cornell Medical College is an independent training program that prides itself on having one of the busiest surgical experiences in the country, based at some of the most prestigious hospitals in the country as well as community-based settings. The primary training site is Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York Presbyterian Hospital’s site on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Substantial experience at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, including a fellow-level rotation in the Chief Resident year is provided. Residents also work in a more independent environment at New York Hospital-Queens as well. Urology residents now spend an entire year in dedicated research to enhance the development of residents as academic clinician-scientists. Most residents completing the residency go on to subspecialize as an academic faculty member or in a subspecialty residency, typically in the most competitive programs in the country. The research experience is available in the Department’s 9500 square feet of laboratory research space as well as in the newly constructed Belfer Research Building with a broad set of opportunities for investigation in wet lab and outcomes research. The urology program is approved and accredited as a 5 year program in Urology with a prerequisite of 1 year of post-graduate training in the Department of Surgery at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell campus. The program therefore includes one year of general surgery, four years of clinical urology training and one full research year. Many of our graduates are substantial contributors to, or leaders of, major urology programs around the country. Educational opportunities for the residents are enhanced by having full time and part time faculty members with primary responsibility for resident supervision in the ambulatory setting. The didactic program and supervision of residents is further supported by the associate program director, Richard Lee, MD. The Department of Urology supports a training program for 15 residents at all times (3 residents per year, for five years each). The training consists of 4 years as an Assistant Resident Surgeon and a final year as Chief Resident. The program breakdown is illustrated below.
5 years of training
4 years of clinical urology, 1 year of research in urology
Year 0 (PGY1) – General Surgery
- 10 months on the Urology-relevant services in General surgery at NYPH
- 2 months on urology service
Year 1 (PGY2) — Assistant Resident Surgeon
- 7 months on the Urology Service at NYPH (special emphasis on Pediatric Urology)
- 3 months of urologic oncology at MSKCC
- 2 months of general surgery electives (critical care, transplant)
Year 2 (PGY3) — Assistant Resident Surgeon
- 12 months of Adult Urology Service at NYPH (inpatient, outpatient, cystoscopy/endoscopy, ER coverage emphasized
Year 3 (PGY4) — Assistant Resident Surgeon
- Full year of dedicated research
Year 4 (PGY5) — Assistant Resident Surgeon
- 4 months of dedicated Pediatric Urology Service
- 2 week international rotation, supported by American Austrian Foundation
- 8 months on Adult Urology service
Year 5 (PGY6) — Chief Resident
- 4 months as Administrative Chief resident (NYPH)
- 4 months as Acting Fellow/Chief Resident at MSKCC
- 4 months as Chief Resident at New York Hospital-Queens
The Department of Urology participates in the ERAS application system. We require (a) 3 letters of recommendation, (b) your medical school Dean’s letter, (c) medical school transcript, and (d) college transcript. Demonstrated interest and productive participation in academic urology is expected. We prefer that your application includes a photograph.
Applicants are considered after July 1st and your file should be completed in ERAS (except for the Dean’s letter) by September 20th. It is advantageous to have your application completed as early as possible. Beginning in Mid-September, applications will be reviewed. A limited number of interviews will be offered. We participate in the Urology Match Program, which is completed prior to the Surgery internship match ranking deadline. Our AUA Residency Matching Program Identification Number is 40344. For individuals accepted into our Urology Residency Program, each must apply for the match and spend PGY 1-2 in General Surgery at Cornell. The single ERAS application will suffice for both the Departments of Urology and Surgery.
Facility
The Urology Department’s facilities are primarily located on the 9th floor of the Starr Pavilion (Starr 9), within The New York-Presbyterian Hospital. While inpatients are predominantly located in the hospital on Baker 15 and Greenberg 8, the cystoscopy suites, operating rooms, Institute for Pediatric Urology, and the Urologic Research Laboratories are all located on the 9th floor of Starr. Additional outpatient experience at the Men’s Health Center is an important component of outpatient training in urodynamics and voiding dysfunction. Central to these sites in Starr is the resident office, with workspace and lounging areas for all residents. The Department is contiguous with a contemporary 800 inpatient bed hospital (Greenberg Pavilion) located over the East River Drive and an outpatient hospital site under construction across the street (David Koch Ambulatory Center.)
Clinical Program
In our program, the available clinical material is abundant. Annually, over 38,000 procedures are performed in the Department with 1,800 patient discharges and over 850 pediatric urology procedures. Primary major procedures include open and robotic prostatectomy, radical cystectomy, urinary tract reconstruction and partial & radical nephrectomy. Cornell resident experience in radical cystectomy, radical prostatectomy, laparoscopy, and nephrectomy/partial nephrectomy is typically in the 80-99th percentile of experience for all graduating chief residents in the United States. Urologic procedures such as prostate biopsies, local procedures, urodynamics studies, and cytograms are performed on an outpatient basis as well by Departmental staff. Endourological, microsurgical and laparoscopic procedures are routinely performed in the Department, and an extra-corporeal shock wave lithotripter (ESWL) for the disintegration of kidney stones is in daily use within the Department.
Supervision and support of the clinical resident training program is a primary activity of the Department of Urology at Cornell. We have 17 full-time Urologists with their practices confined to the Department. In addition, we are strongly supported by voluntary faculty Urologists whose private offices are located within and outside The New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Our active didactic teaching program (see schedule under “Educational Programs”) includes weekly conferences that represent a balanced blend of pediatric and adult urologic problems, uroradiology, andrology, contemporary journal articles review, and basic science topics relevant to urology. Having clinical activities take place in Starr 9 allows ongoing close interaction between attending staff and residents with regular supervision of resident clinical activities.
Research Program
A full year of dedicated research is provided in the 4th year of residency training. The resident is encouraged to select a research topic of interest, and the Research Director works with the resident to confirm that the proposed research program will encompass a complete research endeavor and be adequately supervised, allowing design, execution, presentation and submission for publication of the research project. The research program is primarily housed within the 9th floor Sacerdote Laboratories for Urological Research, a recently renovated research space that provides state-of-the-art facilities. This research setting provides a collaborative environment for all Urology laboratories to interact and share resources for the advancement of research, while enhancing the ability of the Department to support medical student and resident research. As noted above, resident research opportunities are not limited to the Sacerdote Laboratories for urological research on A-9.
The Cornell Urology research program includes a wide spectrum of opportunities for residents. Recent residents have applied novel imaging technologies such as Raman spectroscopy and multiphoton microscopy, basic studies on action of novel oncologic chemotherapeutic agents relevant for urologic diseases, genetic studies on male reproductive dysfunction as well as epigenomic mediators of urologic disease including action of microRNAs.
Resident involvement in faculty clinical research projects is typical and strongly supported by the faculty. This is evidenced by a variety of awards: Best Paper- AUA Clinical Research; 1st place – research, AUA Awards; 1st place – video, AUA Awards; 1st place – SLS, SMSNA International College of Surgeons Research. Cornell residents routinely are recognized with high awards at the regional New York Academy of Medicine/Valentine Essay Contest in the spring of each year. Urology residents are able to participate in a wide variety of basic and clinical research projects at Weill Cornell (as well as our tri-institutional partners, The Rockefeller University, and Memorial Hospital/Sloan-Kettering Institute.
In order to promote complimentary care and research, our Department has a well-established history with interdisciplinary programs. The Urology Department cooperates with Pediatrics, Oncology, Nephrology, Endocrinology, Pathology, Hypertension, General Surgery, and Transplant Medicine. This outstanding interaction is evidenced by the establishment of the Cornell Institute for Reproductive Medicine that exists partially within the Department of Urology.
Externship Opportunity
A fourth year urology externship is open to both Cornell and visiting non-Cornell medical students. Potential applicants may consider spending a month with our Department early in their fourth year. However, completion of an externship at Cornell is not a prerequisite for application or acceptance as a resident to our institution. Applicants for residency positions are evaluated based on the applicant, not the performance of an externship at Cornell. A urologic sub-internship at Cornell does provide you with an opportunity to see our unit function on a day-to-day basis. However, many of the current residents in the program have never had a rotation at our institution. U.S. medical students may apply for an externship by writing to the Office of Student Affairs, Weill Cornell Medical College, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065. This office can also be reached by telephone at 212.746.1050.
We look forward to hearing from you. Any questions may be directed to the office at 212.746.5491 or by email to jbbrady@med.cornell.edu . Questions regarding the status of your file should be directed to Ms. Tonya McKnight, Faculty & Residency Credentialing Manager, at 212.746.5461. Additional queries may be directed to Dr. Richard Lee, Assistant Program Director 646.962.4811.