Empowering young urologists: International congress initiative from Switzerland
Participation in international congresses is often difficult during residency. This can be due to both organisational and financial challenges. However, early participation in international congresses is beneficial for residents for several reasons. In addition to gaining knowledge, networking with colleagues from abroad and industry partners plays a vital role in career development.
The Swiss Association of Urological Residents (SRU) in collaboration with two sponsors from the industry, enables four residents each year to attend the annual congress of the European Association of Urology (EAU).
The project consists of three steps. The selection of candidates is conducted by the SRU Board. Applications are anonymous and evaluated by all board members using a grading system like school grades. In the event of a tie, the deciding vote is cast by the SRU project manager.
After selecting the four participants, the first step is to attend a “Skills Workshop” session, where participants' presentation skills are analysed and improved under the guidance of an international expert.
In the second step, participants are assigned to a mentor, an expert in a specific subfield of urology, and to a specialty within urology (urothelial carcinoma, prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma, functional urology/urolithiasis). Subsequently, they attend the entire congress, during which they receive close supervision from their mentor. Besides gaining initial experience at an international congress, participating in workshops, and general knowledge acquisition, participants are tasked with attending lectures in their assigned specialty and identifying the most interesting ones.
Post-EAU Congress Symposium
The third step involves the participants to work with their mentor to incorporate the most important insights and research findings from their assigned specialty presented at the congress into a 20-minute presentation. About a month after the congress, these presentations are delivered at the post-EAU Congress Symposium, an event aimed at residents and urologists with the intention of providing knowledge dissemination and serving as a networking platform.
Positive impact and feedback from the programme.
This year marked the eighth consecutive year of the project. Dr. Odile Minder (University Hospital Geneva), Dr. Nicola Di Nardo (Lucerne Cantonal Hospital), Dr. Samuel Manser (Biel Hospital Centre), and Dr. André Zitz (Aarau Cantonal Hospital) presented the latest findings from EAU24, under the supervision of Dr. Ilaria Lucca (University Hospital Lausanne), Dr. Dominik Abt (Biel Hospital Centre), and Dr. Tobias Gross (The Bern Urologists AG).
The project has become established in Switzerland and is met with great interest. To ensure timely attendance for their doctors, some clinics now adjust their schedules for the day of the Post-EAU Congress Symposium. Overall, the project receives very positive feedback from all sides. Participants can attend an international congress, improve their presentation skills, and a large portion of the costs is covered by sponsorship. During the preparation, the congress, and the Post-EAU Congress Symposium, networking can take place between congress participants, mentors, and symposium visitors at both national and international levels.
