Overview 

COVID-19 ANNOUNCEMENT FOR PROSPECTIVE UROLOGY RESIDENT APPLICANTS: 

If you're a prospective applicant for the 2020-2021 urology residency  application season, please note that we will not be taking any medical students for visiting rotations this year. We understand your concerns as  it will now  be more challenging  for yo u t o get to know our residency program here at VCU. However, we have created a two-week virtual sub-internship to get to know our faculty, residents, and life as a prospective resident at VCU. We still have availability! 

We  recommend you read  our  application process  for the upcoming 2021  Match  and  encourage you to take part in one of our happy hour Q&As with our residents to learn more about  our  residency program. These take place every other Wednesday at 7pm EST from July through October. 

Reach out to  our program coordinator,  Abigail Lafoon,  to sign up for a virtual sub-internship, happy hour, or to answer any other questions you might have.   

The VCU Resident Experience

From surgical training to care for patients to celebrating a special bond with a diverse team, find out what life is like as a urology resident at VCU.

Meet Our Residents
The VCU Resident Experience The VCU Resident Experience
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Mission Statement

Our mission is to train well-rounded and scientifically-grounded urologists who are capable surgeons, compassionate clinicians, and are well-positioned to become leaders in the field of urology. 

The urology residency program at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System (VCU) is a five-year ACGME-accredited urologic surgery residency program that accepts two residents per year. Our residents are a diverse group of young men and women from around the country who develop into well-rounded urologists. A key goal of our training program is to provide in-depth exposures to the wide breadth of urology. This exposure helps residents discover their interests and passions. Some choose to pursue general urology in small or large group community private practices.  Others find their calling in subspecialties. Recent graduates over the past two years have pursued highly competitive fellowships in urologic oncology at Memorial-Sloan Kettering and the University of Michigan, reconstructive urology at the Cleveland Clinic, and pediatric urology at Boston Children’s Hospital. Whatever your interests, we are confident that our urology residency training program at VCU will help you get there! 

Highlights

  • Five-year urologic surgery residency training program 
  • Two residents per year 
  • Six-month dedicated research rotation during the PGY3 academic year 
  • Seven 4-week urology rotations in internship with early proficiency in office-based urology procedures
  • Faculty in all subspecialties with 13 full-time faculty, including four pediatric urologists 
  • No fellows so residents are involved in all major adult and pediatric cases 
  • Manageable call with just one weekend/month during PGY2-3 year and practically no weekend call during PGY4 year. Chief residents are only on back up call. #goldenweekends 
  • Adult urology rotations are split between VCU Medical Center and the McGuire VA Medical Center, which are separated by a quick 8-10 minute drive
  • High-volume spinal cord injury unit at McGuire VA (one of the country’s largest) providing unique clinical and operative experience in neuro-urology and voiding dysfunction 
  • International Urology Experience participate in international urologic surgery trips.
  • Didactics curriculum with custom-made "Strive for Five" pacing program (i.e. read 5 pages/day) designed to keep up with the AUA Core Curriculum and to ace the annual in-service exam! 
  • MUGS conferences with rotating weekly sessions including Morbidity-and-Mortality, Updates, Guidelines, and Self-Assessment Study Program questions
  • Robotic surgery exposure with a progressive learning curriculum to master skills using four da Vinci robots (VCU & the VA) and a robotic simulation trainer in our 24/7 simulation center
  • Friendly, tight-knit group of residents. Follow us at @vcu.urology on Instagram, @VCU Urology on Twitter, and on Facebook.

urology residents

Additional Resources

How to Apply
Prospective Resident FAQ
Curriculum Overview 
Rotations 
Educational Goals
Call Schedule 
Strive for Five
Robotic Surgery Curriculum
Program Handbook 
Hospital Profiles 
Faculty Overview 
Current and Former Residents 
Resident Research and Awards
Virtual Sub-Internship
Visiting Acting Internship
Conferences and Lectures 
Global Urologic Surgery Program 
Salary and Benefits
Work/Life Balance  
Explore Richmond
VCU Housestaff Video

Meet our Chairman

chair's Message

Meet our Chairman

“It is my honor and privilege to serve as the Chair of Urology. Here at VCU, we built a top-ranked urology program and remain dedicated to serve our patients, to teach our residents, and to expand our research. Our highly-acclaimed faculty serve in urologic leadership positions at the local, regional, national/international levels and provide state-of-the-art clinical and surgical care for patients with all types of urologic conditions. We also work to ensure a diverse and inclusive learning environment for our residents who graduate to become highly-skilled, confident and open-minded surgeons. Our department’s motto is “the future of surgery today,” and this aligns with our goals to become innovators in urologic surgery and urologic surgical education. Welcome to VCU Urology. ”

Lance Hampton, M.D., FACS
Chair, Division of Urology

Urologic Surgery at VCU Health

From the Program Director

VCUSOM message - program director/dev

From the Program Director

"As Program Director for the VCU Urology residency training program, my main role is the oversight of high-quality and high-volume clinical and surgical training for our residents. We do this by ensuring that residents have graded responsibility with appropriate supervision depending on their year of training and their individual skill. Our program cultivates an environment of transparency and inclusivity which brings out the best in our residents. This is because we respect the unique perspectives of our residents in all areas of training and give them direct say in decision about the structure and function of our program. We are not a static program, providing the same type of training year-in and year-out. Rather, we are constantly making adjustments and improvement to match the learning styles and personalities of our residents. Thus, it is no surprise that our talented and confident residents attend top-notch fellowships or become exceptional community-based urologists after graduation. We are proud of the training we provide here at VCU, and we hope you will consider applying!"

Adam P. Klausner, MD
Residency Program Director

VCU Division of Urology

Meet our Program Coordinator

VCUSOM message - program coordinator

Meet our Program Coordinator

Abigail “Abby” was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. She got her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Religious Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University. She’s been a member of the VCU Health System family since 2013 and has worked in multiple divisions throughout the department of surgery before finding her niche as Residency coordinator with the division of urology. She enjoys travel where she can experience other cultures, doting on her two cats and trying out new spots on the Richmond food and beverage scene.

Abigail Lafoon
Residency Program Coordinator

Special Message Regarding Coronavirus Pandemic and Racial Injustice

VCU Urology is committed to providing the absolutely highest level of care to all patients regardless of race, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

We strive to diversify our workplace at all levels including staff, faculty, and trainees. The clinical, hospital, and academic environment will be a safe place for all people to feel comfortable and able to receive the expert level care that our urologists provide. We will follow all guidance in regard to infection prevention and ensure that our patients are safe and provided state of the art urology services either in person or by telehealth.

Contact Us

Adam P. Klausner, M.D.
Residency Program Director
adam.klausner@vcuhealth.org

Abigail Lafoon
Program Coordinator
(804) 828-3273
Abigail.Lafoon@vcuhealth.org