Dear Prospective Applicant:

I would like to give you a brief overview of our training program. We take one resident per year into a five-year program, which consists of the first year in general surgery and the next four years in urologic surgical training. The general surgical training takes place both at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County and at Rush University Medical Center, while the urology training is done exclusively at Rush.

Because of the limited number of residents in our program there is a very high attending faculty-to-trainee ratio. This results in a large and varied volume of surgical cases available for each trainee, as well as a one-to-one teaching experience, both in the operating room and in the clinic.

We believe our model of urologic training results in the most qualified clinicians at completion of their residency, ready to tackle the challenges of clinical urology. We do not set aside specific time for basic science or bench research, although all of our residents are required to design and participate in clinical research projects and to present their work at local, regional and national meetings.

Because of the strengths of our training program and its structure, the majority of our graduates have pursued careers in clinical urology. Some recent graduates, however, have acquired academic positions after pursuing specialty training through postresidency fellowship programs.

The purpose of this overview is both to increase your interest in our program and to attract applicants who are truly interested in the type of training that we offer.

Sincerely yours,

Charles F. McKiel, Jr., MD
Professor and Chairperson
Department of Urology