We found Barcelona full of urologists and let me tell you, EAU and CEM events are a must from the first year of your residency program! You return home with much more than updated guidelines to learn. It’s the only way to stay connected to your definition as an urologist and get inspired. It is about realizing that when you become better, your patients are treated better! And even more, you see the need to be surrounded by that better and learn from it!
These events give you the sense of community and motivate you to grow! I know there is the no emotional attachment doctor-patient or doctor-doctor relationship model, staying away from making professional personal. But you see, as time goes by, harshly not sparing any body… those patients will sadly be mom, dad or a spouse, mine or yours. I think is our duty to create and be part of a dedicated and highly skilled team of doctors, always friendly learning from each other.
You know… I like to imagine us as a troop of soldiers protecting the health of our community!
I have to admit I almost got lost through so many presentation rooms and ideas, but I managed to navigate realizing how much more there is to learn! There are many patients’ problems we can treat in different, complex and creative ways! It’s impossible to not find something that resonates with your artistic core of urological skills!
I had my first presentation at an EAU event and proudly presented my team’s work during the video session of “Complex kidney and adrenal surgery”. I even had the opportunity to enjoy an 1 on 1 training to upgrade my public speaking skills. I was more nervous during this training than the moment I held the presentation itself. So it turned out to be very fruitful and another lesson was relearned: repeated exposure to the stimulus decreases the response…
P.S.: As my friend just spoiled my vibe with a live comment: [... and this is how you know it’s true love!] I have to add that fear and other mixed feelings turned into excitement! ;))
From all of the activity and presentations of EAU, the tasty Spanish dinners and vibrant city views, something stayed with me even when I got home. It’s a bitter sweet sensation after realizing how much work and sacrifices all those professionals bring to the table on a daily basis. So many hours away from a personal life, long surgeries and readings, people trusting you to cut them open and to pass on their lifelong learnings… We should check each other from time to time, so that our collaboration as colleagues doesn’t add up to the rest of life’s sources of stress. It becomes a little overwhelming, but hopefully… also inspiring- especially for us, innocent Urology’s babies!
Our time is limited and we should invest it wisely… Any failure or success- be it big or small, is meaningful and never ours only, because it never forgets to take away its price!
P.S.: To end it sweet, it’s always worthy when you love it! We start hungry for success, but let’s not forget that the bumpy process of discovering the ingredients for a great Urologist recipe is the real blessing, offering options to adjust the final result to our personal taste! Click here and don’t miss future EAU events!
