BERKELEY, CA (UroToday.com) - A urological training programme produces trained surgeons equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to eventually become consultant urologists.
Modern urology comprises a range of inter-related sub-specialties, which include urological oncology, endourology, female and reconstructive surgery and andrology (Table 1 ). 
In all sub-specialities rapid medical and surgical developments, e.g. laparoscopic, robot-assisted and single-port surgery are occurring. As the nature of the work is changing, the defi nitions of competency in urology are also changing. It is vital that urological training constantly adapts to these changes in practice to ensure that standards are maintained and patient safety is not compromised.
With the introduction of the European Working Time Directive in 2004, the training time available, for all doctors, is estimated to have dropped from 30,000 h to only 8000 h.[1] Furthermore, with earlier diagnosis, progress in minimally invasive surgery and pharmacological advances, fewer patients require major urological surgery.[2] The volume-based traditional (‘see one, do one, teach one’) Halstedian model of training is therefore likely to play a smaller role in future training. Surgeons are constantly looking for novel methods of effective training that are valid and reproducible. With quality assurance targets in place and rising patient expectations and litigation cases, it is becoming increasingly necessary to have acquired basic technical skills before operating on patients. This has led to huge interest in the field of medical simulation...View or save the full text Mini Review as a .pdf file
Rishma Gohil, Reenam S. Khan, Kamran Ahmed, Pardeep Kumar, Ben Challacombe, Mohammed Shamim Khan, and Prokar Dasgupta
MRC Centre for Transplantation, King’s College London, Department of Urology and Urology Simulation Centre, Guy’s Hospital, London, UK
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