Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University/Temple University Hospital
- Philadelphia, PA
- Job Address: Temple University at Center City, 7th Floor Urology Suite, Philadelphia, PA, 19103
- Contact Name: Daniel Eun, M.D.
- Type/Focus: Laparoscopy & Robotics
- Duration: 1 Year
- Country: United States
- Phone: 215-875-9710
- Fax: 215-875-9721
- Region: North America
- Contact Email:
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Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University/Temple University Hospital
Faculty: Program Director: Daniel Eun, Affiliated Faculty: Randall Lee, M.D.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
County: United States
Region: North America
Type/Focus: Robotics
Duration: 1 Year
Job Address: Temple University at Center City, 7th Floor Urology Suite, Philadelphia, PA, 19103
Contact Name: Daniel Eun, M.D.
Phone: 215-875-9710
Fax: 215-875-9721
Contact Email:
This fellowship opportunity is only available for applicants who can qualify for attending privileges in the US. Therefore, we can only take applicants who will be completing a US urology residency program.
Overview
Applicants must have completed an ACGME accredited urology residency and be board-eligible/board-certified at the start of the 1-year program. The applicant must also be eligible for a full Pennsylvania medical license. The trainee is involved in all aspects of clinical care for patients undergoing robotic surgery, and will operate with Dr. Daniel Eun and Dr. Randall Lee.
The trainee will also have clinical training responsibilities in the education of our urology residents. A goal of the training program is for the fellow to attain a comfort level with robotic procedures that enables them to function in a teaching role, instructing residents in the basics of robotic surgical techniques.
The trainee will be recognized by the Temple Health system as an attending physician with appointment at the Instructor level. The individual will have the ability to admit patients, independently schedule and perform general (non-robotic) surgical procedures.
Teaching Model/Philosophy
The fellowship is designed as an apprenticeship model where the trainee primarily follows Dr. Eun from the clinic to the operating room. Dr. Eun is an experienced clinician that has been training fellows since 2008. This fellowship is highly operative and focuses on high intensity console-based teaching and not on bedside assistance. Our fellowship model is to use professional PA’s and residents to support the console surgeon with bedside assistance and not to waste valuable fellowship time for bedside assistance. The trainee is expected to graduate and be proficient at all standard robotic oncologic cases and finish with considerable knowledgeable and capability in the newest and most innovative benign and reconstructive techniques. The training incorporates about 50-60% oncology and 40-50% benign/reconstruction for upper and lower urinary tract pathologies. Our philosophy is that a heavy oncologic experience is necessary to enable one to be a superior reconstruction surgeon on a robotic platform. The focus is on robotics only as we feel laparoscopy is an older and inferior modality. For this fellowship, endoscopy is typically very limited to bladder tumor, UTUC, and workup for ureteral obstruction and stricture disease. There is no urolithiasis component to this fellowship.
Clinical Training:
Fellowship under Dr. Eun’s guidance is unique in several aspects. Dr Eun performs a very diverse repertoire of robotic cases, averaging approximately 350 robotics cases/year, with approximately 50-60% of the volume comprising of urologic oncology and 40-50% benign and reconstructive urology. Dr. Eun performs one of the highest volumes of benign and complex reconstructive robotic surgeries worldwide and is considered a leading international authority on the topic. Oncologic cases include retzius-sparing radical prostatectomy, anterior approach prostatectomy, salvage prostatectomy, partial nephrectomy, radical prostatectomy, nephroureterectomy, adrenalectomy, cystectomy and variable levels of pelvic lymph node and retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy. Benign cases include simple prostatectomy +/- bladder diverticulectomy. Reconstructive robotic cases include intracorporeal ileal conduit, intracorporeal neobladder, pyeloplasty, primary and revision pyeloplasty, primary and revisional ureteral reimplantation, buccal mucosa ureteroplasty, revision of ureteroenteric strictures, bladder neck reconstruction (post-surgical or post-radiation) and occasionally ileal ureter or augmentation ileocystoplasty.
Hospital Overview:
Temple University Hospital (TUH) is a 979-bed, level-1 trauma, tertiary care, safety-net hospital located in North Philadelphia. The hospital employs >10,000 staff that includes >1500 physicians and approximately 680 residents and fellows. TUH is the main teaching hospital for the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, which in integral part of Temple University main campus, located a couple miles to the south. Temple Health System has several hospital campuses which include, TUH, Temple Jeanes Hospital, Temple Episcopal Hospital, Temple Northeastern Hospital, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Chestnut Hill Hospital and Temple Women’s Hospital (slated to open in 2023). The Department of Urology across all sites is made up of 19 faculty urologists and approximately 12 other adjunct faculty (outside of TUH). The robotics fellow will cover clinical duties only at Temple University Hospital although call coverage may include other sites.
The fellow will work closely with urology residents, which are composed of 4 urology residents/year, and are on a 5-year pathway to graduation. There is one other fellow at TUH, which is a 1-year GURS (Genitourinary Reconstructive Society) clinical fellow. Other Temple Health fellows that are not stationed at TUH also include another GURS fellow and two SUO (Society of Urologic Oncology) fellows.
Although there are multiple robotics systems across the Temple Health, Temple University Hospital currently has 3 dual console daVinci Xi systems. Under Dr. Eun’s leadership, the robotic suites at Temple were designed with a unique “command center” infrastructure to maximize our abilities to take on complex surgeries, support high volume and maintain maximal safety in the robotic ORs.
On-Call and Non-Robotic Clinical Duties
On-call duties will be shared with other staff urologists in the role of an attending with the typical support of junior and chief-level residents. On-call consultations will typically include general urology, stones, postoperative readmissions and trauma. Non-robotic cases that need to be taken to the operating room urgently, emergently or electively can be covered by the fellow. The fellow will also cover approximately one general urology clinic per week and can perform in-office procedures and book non-robotics cases to the operating room. The fellow will also be responsible for overseeing Dr. Eun’s inpatients and coordinating care with the in-house residents.
Research and Academic Responsibilities:
Throughout the 1-year clinical training program, the trainee participates in clinical research and quality improvement projects. The fellow is responsible for managing and overseeing the ongoing 20+ robotically related research projects that the students, residents and faculty are involved in. The fellow will typically help organize and run the quarterly research meetings. The fellow is also responsible for cross-communication with collaborative institutions in which various databases are being updated. The fellow will typically manage their own project over the course of the year, which may include writing manuscripts, editing videos, writing book chapters, etc. Examples of some of the ongoing databases include CoRRUS (Collaborative Robotic Reconstructive Urologic Surgery) Registry, ROBUUST (ROBotic surgery for Upper tract Urothelial cancer Study) Collaborative Registry, ROSULA (RObotic SUrgery for LArge) renal mass consortium, simple prostatectomy database and the Mt. Sinai partial nephrectomy multi-institutional collaboration. Abstracts are typically submitted to the Philadelphia Urologic, Mid-Atlantic sectional, AUA conference, World Congress of Endourology and Technology, and North American Robotic Urologic Symposium. Funds are available to facilitate trainee travel to various academic conferences where the fellow will be presenting data.
The fellow is expected to participate in regular department academic conferences, which include weekly indications, journal club, morbidity and mortality conference, journal club, and grand rounds. The fellow is responsible for organizing the monthly tumor board multidisciplinary conferences.
Travel Component
To enhance the fellowship experience, the fellow will typically travel with Dr. Eun on at least one international trip/year. Travel opportunities will greatly vary but will typically include overseas travel destinations, either to conferences or to invitations where Dr. Eun will be lecturing/teaching. These travel opportunities typically come with unique cultural experiences and opportunities to develop relationships with urologists and their trainees overseas. In the past, fellows have travelled to locations such as Canada, South Korea, Australia, Japan, Istanbul, UAE, China, and Taiwan.