In the Mid-Atlantic Section of the AUA (MAAUA), we pride ourselves on the urology-charged phrase “size doesn’t matter.” Although the smallest of the 8 sections, we take advantage of our central location, having the AUA Headquarters in-section in Linthicum, Maryland, and boast several world-class urologists, including many recent recipients of AUA honors and awards. This year, we have continued our trend of pioneering several educational outreach programs that we feel will have major impact in the world of urology. Included in this is the Pre-medicine Enrichment Program, in which we fund undergraduate underrepresented minority students to shadow an MAAUA urologist/urology program over the summer. We believe that this exposure will help infuse much-needed diversity not only into medicine, but into urology as a specialty. We piloted this program last year with 6 student recipients and have expanded it to 8 this year. To highlight our commitment to Graduate Medical Education, we host an annual Resident Day in Linthicum. On Resident Day we invite all in-section residents to attend without cost a 1-day program constructed by in-section junior faculty members and comprised of topics that will be helpful to residents on the boards, in practice, and in life. Resident Day is strategically scheduled just prior to the AUA Summit in Washington, DC, which is also heavily attended by our members. I would be remiss if I did not brag about our residents having taken home the Finals Trophy for the second year in a row at the Residents Bowl during the annual AUA meeting in Chicago this past May. Dynasty, anyone?!! Finally, for practicing urologists, we also sponsor 2 virtual Continuing Medical Education talks per year on hot topics in urology. These online programs are called Mid-Atlantic Mondays, and this year we utilized in-section talent to speak on subtopics in nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer and management of complex urethral stricture disease.

This year, the MAAUA Annual Meeting will be held in historic Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, from October 19-21. Nestled in the southeast corner of our section, this picturesque location contains a fully restored colonial town, replete with shops, administrative buildings, and a full complement of in-costume inhabitants living and teaching about 18th-century colonial life. In a standard day, George and Martha Washington and Thomas Jefferson can be seen wandering along Duke of Gloucester Street, the main avenue of Williamsburg. Just adjacent and within walking distance of the town is one of the oldest institutes of higher learning in the country, the College of William and Mary. The meeting hotel is actually situated within Colonial Williamsburg, providing a family-friendly venue. Our section will take advantage of many of the available settings and backdrops to hold our social events, including a Colonial Theme Night, Night Golf, a 5K Fun Run through town, and a guided tour of Historic Williamsburg. Our educational program will be a full 3 days, during which we’ll have 4 invited speakers, more than 15 panel and plenary sessions, concomitant poster sessions, and a full-day program for the advanced practice provider members of our section. Our named speakers are Glenn Preminger from Duke as our Paul Schellhammer Lecturer and Paul Andrews from Mayo Arizona as our Hugh Hampton Young Lecturer. In addition to updates on more standard clinical topics, including oncology, robotic surgery, and endourology, our program committee has used significant thought when structuring the 3 days, taking advantage of some of our in-section specialists who also focus on less common pursuits. Accordingly, we will have a panel on global medicine, a series of lectures targeted toward resident education, and talks on less-common clinical scenarios, such as transgender medicine and transitioning a pediatric patient into adult management. We are confident that it will be a wonderful experience for all, and we encourage those who are coming to make their reservations early and to bring their families. Who knows—you may even get to meet one of our Founding Fathers.