At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the New York Section of the AUA created the “Educational Multi-Institutional Program for Instructing REsidents” (EMPIRE) series in an effort to virtually supplement trainee education during those difficult early months.¹ Members of the New York Section and colleagues around the country rose to the occasion and delivered dozens of high quality seminars on wide-ranging topics, attracting thousands of viewers.

After the conclusion of the first series, we received feedback requesting subsequent sessions focused on preparation for the AUA In-Service Exam (ISE). A list of topics was generated based on the AUA Core Curriculum to target high-yield information for the ISE. Eighteen lectures were delivered via Zoom over 9 weeks by New York Section faculty. These sessions combined topic review and discussion of practice ISE questions. All lectures were streamed live and recordings were archived on the EMPIRE YouTube channel.

The EMPIRE YouTube channel drew a large audience with 1,800 subscribers, 11,638 total views and a total watch time of 2,592 hours leading up to the examination on November 21, 2020. The figure highlights the total views and watch times for each session, with Dr. Steven Brandes’ “Comprehensive Review of Genitourinary Anatomy” lecture being the most popular in the series. These lectures have subsequently garnered a total of 29,024 views with a watch time rising to 6,183 hours since the examination, suggesting these topic reviews provide continuing educational value outside of ISE test preparation.

Figure. EMPIRE In-Service Review lectures: total views and watch times for each session.

We found that viewers of the series were between 25 and 34 (74%) and 35 and 44 (24%) years old, consistent with the mean age of active urology residents (31±4 years old) published in the 2019 AUA resident census (AUAnet.org/Census). Mobile devices were often used (45%) to access recorded content, suggesting that ease of accessibility and portability of information are important factors for the current generation of learners. On a post-series survey (n=46), 92% of respondents felt increased confidence for the ISE as a result of these seminars.

The next phase of the EMPIRE lecture series aims to address aspects of urological education that are nonclinical and are not explicitly taught. In a survey of the New York Section young urologists in 2020, respondents expressed interest in learning more “skills” such as billing and coding, academic promotion, financial planning, and wellness and burnout. With this information in mind, the EMPIRE “Hidden Curriculum” series was created in conjunction with New York Section support and leadership.

The EMPIRE “Hidden Curriculum” series aims to address gaps in training to create an everlasting resource for early-career urologists as they transition to the world of independent practicing. Lectures will include the aforementioned topics in addition to principles of malpractice, pathways for political advocacy, surgeon-scientist career advice, private practice employment models, and contract negotiation.

Those interested can tune in to these free CME-accredited lectures through July 1. The full schedule and more information will be posted on the New York Section AUA website (nyaua.com) as well as Twitter @NYSAUA @EMPIREurology. The EMPIRE urology YouTube channel (tinyurl.com/empireuro) will also house all sessions, in addition to the original COVID-era lectures and the ISE review.