Virtual interview season is once again over and the newly matched interns are eager to embark on the next step, and final step for many, of their journey to becoming a urologist: residency.

I still vividly remember the pre-residency social prior to the start of intern year and meeting my fellow general surgery comrades, and quickly being labeled the “stream team” along with my coresident. We sent off pictures to our families and friends—beaming in our crisp, long, white lab coats affixed with a shiny tomato soup colored MD badge. Little did we know that those badges would bear the brunt of splashes of clot retention hand irrigation, drainage of abscesses and urine samples over the next 5 years. I had read The House of God twice, taken a month-long Euro trip and was eager to finally apply the 9 years of primary education, 4 years of secondary education, 4 years of college and 4 years of medical school to my first “real” job.

Google dictionary is spot on with the definition of “residency” as: “the fact of living in a place” and “a group or organization of intelligence agents in a foreign country.” Urologists in practice typically take home call, and most urology residencies are the same. And although urology residencies have shifted from traditional hospital-based call where residents would reside in the hospital, home call is no joke. The countless number of hours working and operating, in addition to taking home call (which for me was typically every other day or week) can be extremely taxing and grueling, especially when contrasting your schedule to your friends’ and partners’ who are not in a surgical residency. In fact, urology is number 3 on the Medscape National Physician Burnout & Suicide Report 2021 at 49%.¹ A JAMA study of U.S. resident physicians showed that burnout prevalence was the highest in urology residents at 63.8%.²

So is it worth it?

As I am fewer than 100 days from graduating from urology residency, I am often asked this question. Would I choose urology again? Would I even choose a career in medicine again?

For me, the answers to these questions are a quick “yes and yes.” That isn’t to say that the last 5 years were not grueling. However, early on I recognized that residency is temporary. Even during the more challenging times I found ways to push through. I set short-term goals for myself, like countdowns to the next level (ie intern to urology, junior to senior year, chief to graduation). Some weeks I looked at my phone countdown daily and each day I persevered was a win. I found that I chose a training program where I was surrounded by coresidents who not only strengthened and encouraged each other, but also chose to have fun and enjoy time away from work together. They became my second family.

During my white coat ceremony we were advised that in medical school the “days are long, but the years are short.” I wholeheartedly believe this applies to urology residency, as well. Urology residency is demanding, but it is rewarding and worth it. And yes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Choose a residency program that teaches you, pushes you, supports you and, most importantly, helps you become the best urology “you” possible. And now, as I sit here considering my journey and thinking about my next crisp white coat and new name badge, I feel tremendous pride. All trepidation aside, I cannot wait to start my practice as an attending urologist in just a few months.