Resident Spotlights
Our residents come from diverse backgrounds and interests. They were drawn to training in urology and the BCM Scott Department of Urology for many interesting reasons. Read a sampling of spotlight profiles from our residents.
What is your favorite memory from medical school or residency?
I think my favorite memory of medical school is celebrating the incremental successes with friends and classmates. Medicine is a long and arduous journey, so you definitely need to “trust the process”and take time to reflect. Those post-anatomy final, post-step 1, post-(insert other significant medical school milestone) hangouts were always so exciting because it gave my classmates and a chance to celebrate all the effort we had put in and to appreciate just how far we had come asa class. I am definitely looking forward to having these similar celebrations with my co-residents during residency.
Why did you choose urology?
There are so many reasons why I love urology. Apart from the obvious ones like a great work-life balance, good blend of surgery and clinical medicine, and chance to work with cutting-edge technology, I think what truly stands out to me now are the people within the field. Having only recently completed the residency interview process, I can honestly say that urology seems to attract the most good-natured, hilarious, quirky, energetic, and all around charismatic group of peopleI have ever met. And I definitely think this is well reflected amongst our intern cohort, residents, and faculty at Baylor Urology!
What drew you to the BCM Scott Department of Urology?
Without a doubt, the surgical training at Baylor was what truly stood out to me. I can think of very few other residency programs in the country where residents have the opportunity to work at four major hospitals, each with their own unique patient population and practice environment. I think this is an invaluable asset to any resident because it gives you such a diverse training base that then prepares you for a career in any practice setting you desire, be it private practice, academic medicine, or some blend of the two. I certainly wanted a program that would open any door I decided to enter when I completed my surgical training and I certainly believe that the residency program at Baylor caters to this goal.
What’s your favorite thing and/or spot in Houston?
My favorite place in Houston is definitely Hermann Park. It has offers everything you could ask for on a sunny day, from awesome running trails to a full 18-hole golf course. I have spent many days just hanging out with my co-residents and other friends on the green grass and listening to live concerts at the amphitheater as well! It really is the ultimate place to decompress and it is located right at the heart of the medical center!
What is one new thing you started in residency that you hadn’t done before?
I think finding a consistent activity that helps relieve stress and brings you joy is essential to resident wellbeing. For me personally, running has become that passion. I used to run a lot during my high school days, but lost interest in college and medical school. I picked it backup again just prior to beginning residency and I am once again thoroughly enjoying it. It’s such a great way to feel productive and get some well-deserved fresh air. Plus, it definitely helps that Houston has many beautiful running trails and parks to explore, so every run is new and exciting!
What is your favorite memory from residency?
Considering that I have only been on general surgery thus far, my favorite memory from residency was scrubbing into my first case. On my third day as a resident, I got to put ports in, bedside, and close skin during a robotic case for a patient with numerous comorbidities. For the entire case, I was on cloud 9. I was so humbled to be providing a critical role in helping this patient, while also being so pumped and excited to finally be operating. At that moment, it really felt like all of the hard work during medical school was paying off. It also made me so excited for what was ahead of me, and hungry to maximize all of it.
Why did you choose urology?
There are so many reasons why Urology is the best field, and, in my opinion, it starts with the people. Urology really seems to draw people that are not only ambitious, smart, and hard-working, but also good-natured, quirky, funny, and know how to have a good time. They are amazing people in all specialties, but I truly felt like I fit in best with Urologists. Also, I think Urology is the perfect surgical subspecialty because of the breadth of surgeries that you have to master. You truly have the opportunity to make your career exactly what you want it to be, and to help patients in an extremely fulfilling way. Lastly, it is humbling to be a part of a field that is so cutting-edge and advances medicine for patients through innovation, technology, and research.
What drew you to the BCM Scott Department of Urology?
The first thing that stuck out to me during my interview was the people. All of the attendings and residents I met on my interview day were intelligent, genuine, funny, and didn't take themselves too seriously. It also seemed like the residents really got along well with each other, and had a great relationship with the attendings. It seemed like a place where I could thrive. Additionally, the surgical training is unparalleled. It has incredible volume and an excellent balance of legitimate autonomy and opportunities to learn from world-renowned urologists. While also providing the privilege to take care of a very diverse patient population in four major hospitals, each of which has its own unique flair that adds to your training. I truly left my interview thinking that BCM Scott Department of Urology was a place where I could become an excellent Urologist that had every door open to me.
What’s your favorite thing and/or spot in Houston?
I still have a lot of exploring to do, but so far my favorite thing to do in Houston is to check out all of the parks/trails in the city and surrounding area. For a city that has a rep of being a "concrete jungle", it was really surprising how many parks are in the area, as well as opportunities for "outdoorsy" things. Nothing beats going to a new park with my fiancee and dog and then ending it with trying out a new brewery or restaurant (there's literally thousands!).
What is one new thing you started in residency that you hadn’t done before?
I started running with a running group, and it has been a game-changer. Houston has a huge running crowd, and it's been a great way to meet people in a new city, and prioritize something important for my work-life balance.
Why did you choose urology?
I think it's the best specialty in medicine; everything you do is high impact for the patient and their quality of life. There is a vast diversity of cases you can perform. Research is valued and incorporated into practice. It has the best group of people in medicine.
What drew you to the Scott Department of Urology?
The training, the people, and the location. The diversity in experience and training obtained here is hard to match. When I interviewed here, I though the residents were the best group on the trail; they seemed very right-knit, with high energy and positive attitudes. The combination of high-quality training with great people seemed like a no-brainer.
I personally think the training at the Texas Medical Center is unparalleled; Baylor is an operative-heavy program that prioritized being a surgeon and provides a diversity of training and learning opportunities. We rotate at a very busy county hospital, an a private hospital, all while learning surgery and medicine from some of the best urologists in the field.
Lastly, Houston is a fantastic city. There is something for everyone here. I love fitness and being outdoors, and Houston offered me a wide variety of trails and parks to train at. For someone with a family, it's great. I found that we were able to get a much larger house than we would at many other training site and still be within 10-15 minutes of the hospital and be in of the best school districts in the city. Not paying state taxes is also nice. Additionally, there are many benefits offered to me in the state of Texas as a military veteran. Baylor does a great job having the infrastructure set in place to use benefits in residency, making it a seamless process.
What's your favorite thing and/or spot in Houston?
There are a ton of great parks and places to explore. I love running, and I've gotten acquainted with several favorite running and biking trails. Houston is a fit city; I've connected for runs with multiple people in residency so far, and a few of us are training for our next race!
What is one new things you started in residency that you hadn't done before?
Orange Theory and getting started on interesting prospective research with Baylor!
What is your favorite memory of residency?
We were recently hit by a hurricane here in Houston where we lost power for a day and cases were canceled. Several of the residents live in the same building, so we had a "storm party" where we got together and played board games to pass the time during the storm.
Why did you choose urology?
I chose urology because I really enjoy the variety of issues we treat, and the variety of surgeries we perform. It is also very rewarding to provide a surgical solution to treat a patient's issue. It's also really exciting to be on the cutting edge of a lot of surgical innovation as we have introduced using the Single Port robotic system as well as many new, innovative therapies for BPH and stone surgery.
What drew you to the BCM Scott Department of Urology?
The first thing that caught my attention was the resident group. The residents seemed to have so much fun in the program even though they were also working really hard. It was obvious that they were all good friends in addition to being co-workers, which has held true for me as well since I've joined the team. The other thing I noticed about Baylor is that the residents have really incredible autonomy both in and out of the OR, with excellent attending support, which makes for a really unique learning opportunity. The Baylor education is really unmatched!
What's your favorite thing and/or spot in Houston?
My favorite thing about Houston is all the amazing food! You could eat at a different restaurant every week and still not try them all in 5 years. I also really enjoy having warm weather for most of the year, it's really nice to be able to get outside and go for a walk or to the pool even in November and December.
What is one new thing you started in residency that you hadn't done before?
I have started playing pickle ball! I'm not very good, but we have a resident group that goes to play several times per week whenever people are available.
Why did you choose urology?
I always knew I wanted to do surgery - my interest in urology specifically began with exposure to men’s health, infertility and prosthetic surgery in an elective rotation early in my 3rd year of medical school. As I continued to branch out, I quickly realized that urology was incredibly broad despite being a specialty within medicine. Urology has a great balance between medicine and surgery and the day-to-day variety helps to keep me intellectually stimulated. Urologists also have the opportunity to implement some of the most cutting edge technology within surgery - we perform an incredibly broad range of both life-enhancing and life-saving procedures using all types of equipment, including endoscopic, laparoscopic, robotic and traditional open surgery.
What drew you to the Scott Department of Urology?
The first thing that excited me about Baylor was its unique level of resident learning and surgical autonomy. Even starting in intern year, we have access to our own high-volume, resident-run clinics and resident-driven OR’s at our public county hospital, Ben Taub, and the Michael E. DeBakey VA hospital, which is one of the largest VA hospitals in the nation. All of our hospital sites are incredibly busy tertiary care centers and we see referrals for complex cases (ie. difficult renal masses, IVC thromboses, Fournier’s gangrene, complex urethral/ureteral recon) with regularity that many urologists may only see once or twice a year.
Working in Houston also brings with it an incredibly rich and diverse patient demographic. In our training, we care for patients spanning all cultures and languages and from all types of socioeconomic backgrounds, helping us to become more conscientious, patient-centered, and ultimately much better physicians. It is also a privilege to work in the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex within the US. It provides us with the opportunity to collaborate and share ideas with our colleagues across multiple institutions to drive medicine forward.
What's your favorite thing and/or spot in Houston?
Houston is a foodie’s haven! I would argue that the Houston food scene is the best in the country. The range of cuisine is unparalleled and that stems from the diversity of its population, especially with fusion foods here that you won’t find anywhere else. My personal favorite - Crawfish and Noodles (Vietnamese-Cajun fusion), an absolute must during crawfish season.
What is one new thing you started in residency that you hadn't done before?
Pickleball! It’s such a great way to get outdoors and hang out with people outside of the hospital. Also it’s very doable, even in the notoriously hot summers that we have here in the city.
Houston, the nation's fourth-largest and most diverse city, offers all the benefits of a big city at a significantly lower cost of living than other major cities.