The Daily Schedule Of A Urologist

Patients operated on by urologists are seen 1-2 times a day in the general wards as well as the ICU. The patients are seen every day and are under the care of the urologist until they are ready to be discharged. Urologists are also consulted by other specialists such as nephrologists and gynaecologists, who are closely linked to each other's specialties.

A urologist may provide on-call services to the hospital they work at around 2-3 times a week, depending on the availability of staff. They will be consulted by primary healthcare personnel and casualty doctors, working in the emergency room, to manage patients who have urological disorders.

Monday

The week starts with the urologist dealing with administrative issues such as confirming their surgical lists, patient consultations and meetings with surgical representatives and hospital staff such as management.

The specialist will consult with patients and manage medical issues, such as urinary tract infections and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), either conservatively or by admitting patients to the ward to be managed further. If patients need surgical intervention of their pathology, they will have a surgery date booked for them. 

Tuesday

Tuesday usually comprises of performing surgery for the entire day. The urologist may also provide emergency consultations between elective cases. 

Surgeries that can be performed on this day include time consuming ones such as prostatectomies (removal of the prostate, usually due to severe enlargement or if there's a tumour present), cystectomies (removal of the bladder, usually due to cancer), nephrectomies (removal of the kidney due to cancer or trauma) and open procedures that are needed to remove kidney stones.

Wednesday

Wednesdays can be used to perform procedures that can be done at day-surgery clinics, where patients can be discharged the same day but need general anasthesia to perform the procedure, or perform procedures in the procedure room of the specialist's office. Nervous system disorders are managed with therapies that include catheterization of the bladder (urethral or suprapubic), injecting anticholinergic drugs or Botulinum toxin (Botox) into the bladder wall, as well as advanced but a less commonly used treatment such as sacral neuromodulation.

The urologist will also consult with patients to manage acute issues, as well as follow up post-surgical patients.

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Thursdays

The urologist will perform procedures such as lithotripsies (using sonar waves to break up kidney stones), cystoscopies (using cameras to visualise the bladder) and then perform other procedures such as taking biopsies of the bladder wall or removing kidney stones which are situated lower down in the ureter and circumcisions.

The afternoon will be used to train under- and post-graduate doctors, if the doctor is involved with the academic programme, for further research or to fill in chronic prescriptions and motivation letters to medical insurance companies.

Friday

The urologist will consult with patients in the morning and continue to manage acute illnesses and schedule patients for surgery for the following week. They will then deal with any pending administrative issues and end their work week.

If the urologist is on-call for the weekend, they will then take care of their patients and those of other urologists who have discussed their patients with them.