This November, the Division of Urology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital will host a unique event: the 3rd annual international Advances in Urologic Care symposium. The conference takes place on a beautiful resort in the Dominican Republic and features quality lectures from expert faculty on the latest updates in urology. It offers participants a chance to recharge and connect in a relaxed setting, while attending top-of-the-line CME activities.
Matthew Mossanen, MD, MPH, urologic surgeon in the Division, and Quoc-Dien Trinh, MD, MBA, director of ambulatory clinical operations in the Division, will direct this year’s course.
In this Q&A, they discuss the benefits of a conference like this and highlight some important topics from the curriculum.
Q. What makes this conference so unique?
This event is special because it combines quality lectures with a beautiful, relaxed location. It’s a good opportunity to have a little vacation away from the city and learn the latest in urologic care at the same time. The lectures will span different areas of urology, and we have an impressive group of guest speakers from different institutions who are all well-known. The relaxed setting is a great way for participants to connect with colleagues and take some time to recharge.
Q. How has this year’s conference evolved from previous years?
We’re excited to host this conference again now that COVID-19 restrictions have lifted and people are more comfortable traveling. This year, we’ve opened the event up to primary care doctors as well. There will primarily be urology-focused lectures specific to urologists and urologic oncologists. Still, there are some topics more relevant to primary care doctors, such as how to manage recurrent urinary tract infection and dietary management of kidney stones.
Q. What topics will the curriculum cover?
The course includes lectures, video sessions, tips and tricks for surgical techniques, keynote speakers, and interactive Q&A. We’ll cover updates in state-of-the-art care, including commonly encountered clinical problems in urology and how to manage them. There will be discussions of new diagnostic tools, novel therapeutic options, and guideline-based surveillance regiments across a nice blend of benign and malignant topics.
Q. Are there any presentations you’re particularly excited about?
Each lecturer is an expert in their field and speaks from clinical experience, so everyone is in their wheelhouse. The Brigham team is excited to be joined by four keynote speakers from other institutions: Peggy Pearle, MD, PhD, Cheryl T. Lee, MD, Michael Leveridge, MD, and Lori Lerner, MD. They’ll cover topics ranging from lectures on minimally invasive therapies for benign prostatic hyperplasia and surgical management of stones, to plenary discussions on social media, health equity, cognitive bias, and telehealth in urology.
Q. What are your goals for the future of this conference?
We’re hoping to make this an annual tradition and plan to visit different locations in the future. We want to build a long-term program where we continue to bring in experts from all around the world and travel to different countries.
The Brigham is unique in that we have all the experts right here ready to go, and we can bring in international colleagues to learn from them. There’s a lot of potential here, and we’re very excited to have this upcoming event in November.