Letter from the Chair
October 28, 2008
Vision for the UW Department of Urology
The mission of the Department of Urology at the University of Washington is to improve urological health in our region and the world. As the new Chair of the Department, my goal is to create the most innovative urology program in the United States by providing seamless high quality patient care, carrying out translational research, and educating the next generation of urological care givers and scientists.
Innovative Patient Care
As the major tertiary and quaternary care resource for the entire Pacific Northwest, our goal is to deliver the highest level patient care, consistent with the Institute of Medicine aims for healthcare in the 21st century: safe, effective, patient centered, timely, efficient, and equitable. The faculty will be expanded to create a critical mass of urological surgeons, working together to redesign patient care paradigms and continuously improve quality. Priority areas will build on our core strengths including urological oncology, minimally invasive surgery, pediatric urology, men’s health, female urology and trauma/reconstruction. Beyond the walls of our own institutions, we will actively engage with urologists throughout the State to measure, coordinate and enhance the quality and safety of urological care, ultimately extending these efforts through the entire 5 state WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) region.
High-Impact Translational Research
The University of Washington is the #2 biomedical research institution in the United States, and the Department of Urology is consistently ranks in the top 5 in NIH funding. We will develop new directions for patient oriented investigation in cancer and benign urological diseases by integrating and leveraging our combined basic and clinical research enterprises. The department will break down the physical and administrative barriers to interdisciplinary interactions between urologists and basic scientists through a new research core. This space will bring together investigators, research infrastructure and biostatistical consultants in a vibrant working environment that facilitates rapid response to new ideas originating in our laboratories, clinical settings, other UW collaborators and outside funding agencies.
Education of the Future
The aging of the baby boom population and impending workforce shortage in Urology call for creative and bold solutions. We will use our outstanding Urology Residency Program as a platform for dramatic expansion of the scope and reach of our educational mission for the 9 million person WWAMI region. Our aim is to increase the number of urology residents in our program 60%. Through VA, WWAMI, and government networks we will create novel training sites that capture the diversity of rural, Native, and community practices in the Northwest. Concomitant with this expansion will be the increased use of simulation training modules and robotic simulators to measure appropriate performance through the training program. Because increased Urologist numbers alone will not meet the workforce needs of the population, we will develop a core office urology curriculum for primary care physicians, independent nurse practitioners, and midlevel providers that ensures the appropriate quality and scope of non-urologist care.
Our 4 word motto is to cure, comfort, teach and wonder. The work of the Department of Urology is to care for patients with complex and unusual urological conditions requiring special knowledge and skill; to educate students, residents, fellows and other health care providers to enhance patient care and research; and to provide solutions for the world’s most difficult urological problems. We have embarked on a 5 year investment to find the people, space and infrastructure necessary to carry out this work.
Hunter Wessells, MD
Professor and Chair, Department of Urology
Nelson Chair in Urology
University of Washington
School of Medicine
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