1. health and fitness
2. disease
3. incontinence

The University of Michigan Department of Urology
3875 Taubman Center, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, SPC 5330, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 -5330
Academic Office: (734) 232-4943
FAX: (734) 936-8037
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What's New October 26, 2012
Quentin Clemens
Michigan Urology Faculty, Fellows, and Residents
2 Items, 10 Minutes
1.
Quentin Clemens studied natural science and got a Bachelor of
Arts at Goshen College in Indiana and then went on to John‟s
Hopkins University School of Medicine for his MD where he got
interested in urology inspired by Pat Walsh to a large degree. He
came to Northwestern University for urology residency under
Tony Schaeffer and completing that in 1999 came to the
University of Michigan for a fellowship in neurourology,
reconstruction, and incontinence under Ed McGuire. Quentin
returned to Northwestern for a faculty position as Assistant
Professor where he directed the Residency Education Program
and the Section of Voiding Dysfunction and Female Urology. In
2003 he obtained a Master of Science in clinical investigation
from the Graduate School of Northwestern University. Quentin
returned here in July of 2007 as an Associate Professor and he is
our section head in the NPR division. His current big effort is as
principle investigator with Dan Claw of the P01 grant entitled
University of Michigan MAPP [multidisciplinary approach to the
study of chronic pelvic pain] research discovery site sponsored by
the NIDDK. Quentin has had a heavy involvement as a reviewer
for the journals related to our field and is often cited as one of
the “best reviewers.” He is organizationally involved with the AUA
at many levels and was recipient of the prestigious Gallagher
Scholarship to develop expertise in policy issues of health care.
Quentin has a deep CV and at this point I will let him tell you
more about himself directly.
Quentin‟s accomplishments in 2011 to present date:
Peer-Reviewed Publications
a) Filson CP, Hollingsworth JM, Skolarus TA, Clemens JQ and Hollenbeck
BK: Health care reform in 2010: transforming the delivery system to
improve quality of care. World J Urol 29:85-90, 2011.
b) Anger JT, Zabihi N, Clemens JQ, Payne CK, Saigal CS, and Rodriguez LV:
Treatment choice, duration, and cost in patients with interstitial cystitis
and painful bladder syndrome. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct,
22:395-400, 2011.
c) Cameron AP, Anger JT, Madison R, Saigal CS, and Clemens JQ. National
trends in the usage and success of sacral nerve test stimulation. J Urol,
185:970-76, 2011.
d) Cameron AP, Wallner LP, Forchheimer MB, Clemens JQ, Dunn RL,
Rodriguez G, Chen D, Horton J and Tate DG. Medical and psychosocial
complications associated with method of bladder management after
traumatic spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 92:449-56, 2011.
e) Hanno PM, Burks DA, Clemens JQ, Dmochowski RR, Erickson D,
Fitzgerald MP, Forrest JB, Gordon B, Gray M, Mayer RD, Newman D,
Nyberg L, Payne CK, Wesselman U and Faraday MM. AUA guideline for
the diagnosis and treatment of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain
syndrome. J Urol, 185:2162-70, 2011.
f) Clemens JQ, Bogart LM, Liu K, Pham C, Suttorp M, and Berry SH.
Perceptions of “urgency” in women with interstitial cystitis/ bladder pain
syndrome or overactive bladder. Neurourol Urodyn, 30:402-405, 2011.
g) Bogart LM, Suttorp MJ, Elliott MN, Clemens JQ, and Berry SH:
Prevalence and correlates of sexual dysfunction among women with
bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC). Urology, 77:576580, 2011.
h) Berry SH, Elliott MN, Suttorp M, Bogart LM, Stoto MA, Eggers P,
Nyberg L and Clemens JQ: Prevalence of symptoms of bladder pain
syndrome/interstitial cystitis among adult females in the U.S. J Urol,
186:540-544, 2011.
i) Watkins KE, Eberhart N, Hilton L, Suttorp MJ, Hepner KA, Clemens JQ
and Berry SH. Depressive disorders and panic attacks in women with
bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis: a population-based sample.
Gen Hosp Psych, 33:143-9, 2011.
j) Rowley MW, Clemens JQ, Latini JM and Cameron AP: Simple cystectomy:
outcomes of a new operative technique. Urology, 78:942-5, 2011.
k) Bogart LM, Suttorp MJ, Elliott MN, Clemens JQ, Berry SH. Validation of
a quality of life scale for women with bladder pain syndrome/interstitial
cystitis. QOL Research, published on-line Dec 7, 2011.
l) Konkle KS, Berry SH, Elliott MN, Hilton L, Suttorp MJ, Clauw DJ and
Clemens JQ. Comparison of an IC/BPS clinical cohort with symptomatic
community women from the RAND Interstitial Cystitis Epidemiology
(RICE) study. J Urol, 187: 508-12, 2012.
m) Hepner KA, Watkins KE, Elliot M, Clemens JQ, Hilton L and Berry SH.
Suicidal ideation among patients with bladder pain syndrome/interstitial
cystitis. Urology, 80: 280-85, 2012.
n) Coyne KS, Sexton CC, Thompson CL, Clemens JQ, Chen C, Bavendam T
and Dmochowski R. The impact of overactive bladder (OAB) on work
productivity. Urology, in press.
o) Suskind AM, Kaufman SR, Dunn RL, Stoffel JT, Clemens JQ, Hollenbeck
BK. Population based trends in ambulatory surgery for urinary
incontinence. Int Urogynecol J, in press.
p) Clemens JQ, Elliott MN, Marika Suttorp M, and Berry SH. Temporal
ordering of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) and nonbladder conditions. Urology, in press.
q) Coyne KS, Sexton CC, Bell JA, Thompson CL, Dmochowski R, Clemens JQ,
Tamara Bavendam T and Chen C. The prevalence of lower urinary tract
symptoms (LUTS) and overactive bladder (OAB) by racial/ethnic group
and age: results from OAB-POLL. Neurourol Urodyn, in press.
r) Suskind AM, Berry SH, Ewing BA, Elliott MN, Suttorp MJ and Clemens
JQ. The prevalence and overlap of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain
syndrome and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome in men;
results of the RAND Interstitial Cystitis Epidemiology (RICE) male study.
J Urol, in press.
s) Cameron AP, Anger JT, Madison R, Saigal CS and Clemens JQ. Battery
explantation after sacral neuromodulation in the Medicare population.
Neurourol Urodyn, in press.
t) Suskind AM, Kaufman SR, Dunn RL, Stoffel JT, Clemens JQ and
Hollenbeck BK. Population based trends in procedures following sling
surgery for urinary incontinence. Int Urogyn J, in press.
u) Suskind AM, Berry SH, Suttorp MJ, Elliott MN, Hays RD, Ewing BA and
Clemens JQ. Health-related quality of life in patients with interstitial
cystitis/ bladder pain syndrome and frequently associated comorbidities.
Qual Life Res, in press.
Book Chapters
a) Wittmann D and Clemens JQ: The painful bladder syndrome and other
urologic causes of chronic pelvic pain, in Vercellini P (Ed): Chronic Pelvic
Pain, Ch. 9, pp. 86-97, Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.
b) Clemens JQ. Male urinary incontinence. In: UpToDate, Basow, DS (Ed),
UpToDate, Waltham, MA, 2011 and following editions.
c) Atiemo H and Clemens JQ: Managing overactive bladder and urinary
incontinence in the male, in Shoskes D (Ed): Urological Men‟s Health: A
Guide for Urologists and Primary Care Physicians, Ch. 13, in press.
d) Clemens JQ. Clinical features and diagnosis of interstitial cystitis/
bladder pain syndrome. In: UpToDate, Basow, DS (Ed), UpToDate,
Waltham, MA, in press.
e) Clemens JQ. Treatment of interstitial cystitis/ bladder pain syndrome.
In: UpToDate, Basow, DS (Ed), UpToDate, Waltham, MA, in press.
Non-referred Journal Articles
a) Cameron AP and Clemens JQ. U.S. experience with bladder management
following spinal cord injury. Current Bladder Dysfunction Reports, in
press.
b) Clemens JQ. Deciding between sacral neuromodulation and botulinum
toxin injections for refractory idiopathic overactive bladder. AUA News,
August 2012.
Abstracts
a) Clemens JQ, Elliott M, Suttorp M and Berry S. Temporal association
between interstitial cystitis/ bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) and nonbladder conditions. Society for Urodynamics and Female Urology winter
meeting, March 2011 (podium).
b) Outcault S, Clemens JQ, Ryan G and Berry S. A qualitative analysis of
symptom clustering among women diagnosed with interstitial cystitis/
bladder pain syndrome, endometriosis, vulvodynia, and overactive bladder.
Society for Urodynamics and Female Urology winter meeting, March 2011
(podium).
c) Konkle K, Berry S, Munjas B, Suttorp M and Clemens JQ. Healthcare
seeking in community women with IC/BPS symptoms. American Urological
Association meeting, May 2011 (podium).
d) Konkle K, Berry S, Hilton L, Suttorp M and Clemens JQ. Demographics
and clinical characteristics of the RICE IC/BPS cohort. American
Urological Association meeting, May 2011 (podium).
e) Sexton CC, Coyne KS, Bell J, Clemens JQ, Dmochowski R, Chen C,
Bavendam T and Kopp Z. The impact of OAB on work productivity in the
US: Results from OAB-POLL. American Urological Association meeting,
May 2011 (podium).
f) Coyne KS, Sexton CC, Thompson C, Dmochowski R, Clemens JQ, Chen C,
Bavendam T and Kopp Z. The prevalence of overactive bladder (OAB) by
race: Results from the OAB-POLL study. American Urological
Association meeting, May 2011 (poster).
g) Khan A, Alperin M, Clemens JQ, Pashos CL, Wu N and Anger JT.
Comparative outcomes of open versus laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy among
female Medicare beneficiaries. American Urogynecology Society
meeting, September 2011. (podium).
h) Clemens JQ, Anger JT, Ganz ML, Denevich S, Shah D, Carlson AM,
Wittek MR and Pashos CL. Cost-effectiveness of sacral neuromodulation
and botulinum toxin-A for patients with idiopathic overactive bladder
refractory to conservative care. American Urogynecology Society
meeting, September 2011. (podium).
i) Anger J, Khan A, Alperin M, Wu N, Clemens JQ, Dubina E and Pashos C.
Comparative outcomes of open versus laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy among
female Medicare beneficiaries. Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic
Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction winter meeting, March 2012
(podium).
j) Histed S, Khan A, Alperin M, Wu N, Pashos C, Clemens JQ and Anger J.
Predictors of outcomes of prolapse surgery among female Medicare
beneficiaries: the role of apical support. Society of Urodynamics, Female
Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction winter meeting, March
2012 (podium).
k) Anger J, Eilber K, Khan A, Histed S, Wu N, Pashos C and Clemens JQ.
Short−term outcomes of vaginal mesh placement among female Medicare
beneficiaries. Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine and
Urogenital Reconstruction winter meeting, March 2012 (podium).
l) Clemens JQ, Anger JT, Ganz ML, Denevich S, Shah D, Carlson AM,
Wittek MR and Pashos CL. Cost-effectiveness of sacral neuromodulation
and botulinum toxin-A for patients with idiopathic overactive bladder
refractory to conservative care. Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic
Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction winter meeting, March 2012
(podium).
m) Eilber K, Khan A, Alperin M, Clemens JQ, Wu N, Pashos C and Anger J.
Surgeon impact on prolapse surgery outcomes. Society of Urodynamics,
Female Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction winter meeting,
March 2012 (poster).
n) Khan A, Eilber K, Alperin M, Wu N, Clemens JQ, Pashos C and Anger J.
Trends in prolapse management among Medicare beneficiaries in the new
millennium. Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine and
Urogenital Reconstruction winter meeting, March 2012 (poster).
o) Haraway A, Faerber G, Clemens JQ, Atiemo H and Cemeron AP. Urologic
complications after robotic hysterectomy. Society of Urodynamics,
Female Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction winter meeting,
March 2012 (poster).
p) Haraway A, Cameron AP, Atiemo H, Oldendorf A, Latini J and Clemens
JQ. CAHPS surgical care survey. Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic
Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction winter meeting, March 2012
(poster).
q) Suskind AM, Kaufman SR, Dunn RL, Clemens JQ, Stoffel JT and
Hollenbeck BK. Population based trends in ambulatory surgery for urinary
incontinence. American Urological Association meeting, May 2012
(podium).
r) Suskind AM, Berry SH, Ewing BA, Elliott MN, Suttorp MJ and Clemens
JQ. Health-related quality of life impact of interstitial cystitis/painful
bladder syndrome and other symptomatic pelvic disorders. American
Urological Association meeting, May 2012 (podium).
s) Histed S, Khan A, Alperin M, Wu N, Pashos C, Clemens JQ and Anger J.
Predictors of outcomes of prolapse surgery among female Medicare
beneficiaries: the role of apical support. American Urological Association
meeting, May 2012 (podium).
t) Anger J, Eilber K, Khan A, Histed S, Wu N, Pashos C and Clemens JQ.
Short−term outcomes of vaginal mesh placement among female Medicare
beneficiaries. American Urological Association meeting, May 2012
(podium).
u) Eilber K, Khan A, Alperin M, Clemens JQ, Wu N, Pashos C and Anger J.
Surgeon impact on prolapse surgery outcomes. American Urological
Association meeting, May 2012 (podium).
v) Khan A, Eilber K, Alperin M, Wu N, Clemens JQ, Pashos C and Anger J.
Trends in prolapse management among Medicare beneficiaries in the new
millennium. American Urological Association meeting, May 2012 (podium).
w) Suskind AM, Kaufman SR, Dunn RL, Stoffel JT, Clemens JQ and
Hollenbeck BJ. Population based trends in secondary procedures for
midurethral slings. American Urological Association meeting, May 2012
(poster).
x) Suskind AM, Berry SH, Ewing BA, Elliott MN, Suttorp MJ and Clemens
JQ. The prevalence of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome
(IC/BPS) and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS)
in men; results of the RAND Interstitial Cystitis Epidemiology (RICE)
male study. American Urological Association meeting, May 2012 (poster).
y) Coyne K, Sexton S, Thompson C, Clemens JQ, Chen C, Bavendam T and
Dmochowski R. The association of overactive bladder with physical
activity in the United States: results from OAB-POLL. American
Urological Association meeting, May 2012 (poster).
z) Suskind AM, Clemens JQ, Dunn RL, Kaufman SR, DeLancey JOL, Stoffel
JT and Hollenbeck BK. Understanding the dissemination of sacral
neuromodulation. American Urogynecology Society meeting, October
2012 (poster).
This section was provided by Quentin.
2.
I think we should all thank Dr. Bloom for this chance to talk about
ourselves, guilt-free, with a captive audience. The opportunity
does not come up very often. I will start with a few random
things that you probably don‟t know about me, and which I hope
some of you will find interesting.
I was born and raised in eastern Pennsylvania, about 30 minutes
north of Philadelphia. My immediate family, my extended family,
and my entire ancestry as far back as can be followed are
Mennonite or Amish, and this has defined much of my life. The
word Mennonite is derived from Menno Simons (1496-1561), who
was a leader of the so-called „Radical Reformation‟ that occurred
in Western Europe in the 1600‟s. These individuals were at the
radical end of the Protestant Reformation. Among the beliefs
were adult baptism, an emphasis on New Testament teachings,
the „priesthood of all believers‟, and pacifism. Individuals with
these beliefs were called Anabaptists - Mennonites, Quakers,
Church of the Brethren, Hutterites, and Amish all fall into this
category. Anabaptists were persecuted mercilessly in the 1600‟s,
as the belief in adult baptism was considered heretical and (more
importantly) treasonous, given the union of church and state at
the time. A large book called the “Martyr‟s Mirror” or the
“Bloody Theater” published in 1660, in Dutch, includes accounts of
pacifist Anabaptists being killed for their beliefs. Many
Anabaptists emigrated to North America to escape persecution.
I am not aware of any colorful stories about my ancestors, but I
know that they were from the region around the Swiss-German
border.
The Amish religion was started by Jakob Amman in 1693 in
Switzerland, as an offshoot from the Mennonites. Mennonite
beliefs and practices have modernized over time, while Amish
beliefs and practices are essentially unchanged from 1693. Most
of my relatives are Mennonite – be advised I did not grow up
riding a horse and buggy. But my maternal grandfather grew up
Amish, and left the Amish church as a young adult. Apparently
my mother spoke Pennsylvania Dutch as a young child before she
spoke English.
I went to a Mennonite grade school, a Mennonite High School, and
a Mennonite College (Goshen College in Indiana). We went to
church every Sunday. We did not work or go out to eat on
Sundays, ever. To this day I feel slightly guilty if I do yard work
on Sundays, even if I do find it relaxing. I was brought up in a
religious, but not sheltered environment. I continue to be
grateful that I was raised in such an environment, which I feel
gave me a huge head start toward a successful life.
I receive the What‟s New via e-mail every week, and I sometimes
feel inadequate. For instance, Dr. Bloom typically discusses books
about bettering one‟s life or improving leadership skills. I, on the
other hand, read solely for the purpose of entertaining myself.
Perhaps this makes me shallow, but I can live with that. I
particularly enjoy historical fiction, especially if there is some
sort of murder mystery involved. I have found that scouring the
list of Edgar Award winners (named for Edgar Allen Poe)
(www.theedgars.com) will often identify good choices. Here are
some of my favorites – please let me know if you have read one of
these and enjoy it.
a. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco – the prototypical
historical murder mystery, set in a monastery in Italy, 1327.
b. An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears – set in 17th
century Cambridge, England – presents the same story from
4 different viewpoints. Probably my favorite book.
c. Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss – set in 18th century
London during the emergence of the stock market there.
d. The Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison – set in a forced labor
camp for Buddhist monks in Tibet.
e. A Beautiful Place to Die by Malia Nunn – set in South Africa,
at the height of Apartheid in 1952.
f. The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin – set in Istanbul in
1836 at the end of the Ottoman Empire. The protagonist is
a Turkish eunuch (!).
My family consists of my wife Rachel, our children Katherine (11),
Ryan (10), and Evelyn (7) and our dog Tula (6 month old French
Bulldog). The pictures of the kids were taken on the first day of
school this year.
We live in Dexter, and have found that we really enjoy that
community. Rachel was a critical care nurse before she switched
to being a stay-at-home mom. We met during my urology
residency. She worked in the recovery room here at U of M for a
short time during my fellowship, and her positive experience
working here was one of many factors that led us to come back to
Ann Arbor. I am man enough to say that my wife is the boss at
home.
Katherine enjoys reading and listening to her iPod. She is an
excellent swimmer, and is on the Dexter swim team and the Team
USA swim team. She started playing saxophone last year. She is
really into a boy band called One Direction. There are 5 members
of the band, and their names are Niall, Liam, Harry, Zayn, and
Louis. Three of them have girlfriends. They have a new album
coming out on November 13. Niall is going to have knee surgery
soon. They will be in concert at the Palace of Auburn Hills on July
7. I am truly embarrassed by how much I know about the boy
band One Direction.
Ryan‟s main interests are soccer and video games. He plays left
fullback for the Dexter U-10 soccer travel team, and he also
swims on the Dexter swim team. He has recently started
trombone lessons. He has also developed an interest in college
and professional sports, which has been lots of fun for me. Most
mornings when I get up, he is watching SportsCenter to catch up
on the scores from the night before. I would like to take him to
a World Series game but I‟m not sure I can justify the price.
Evelyn enjoys play dates with her friends, being precocious, and
wasting time. She makes me laugh every day, and she gets in
trouble every day. She is either going to keep us young or make
us age prematurely.
Now some updates about things that have been keeping me
occupied at work.
The AUA leadership has decided to develop an in-house data
collection strategy, and I have been put in charge of this newly
created AUA Data Workgroup. David Miller is the Vice-Chair.
Initially this was a vision without a plan. I accepted the position,
although I was not sure whether it was a great opportunity or a
no-win situation. Over the past 6 months, we have developed a
strategy and have begun to implement it. We are coordinating
efforts with the AUA Guidelines Committee, chaired by Dr. Wolf.
I should also mention that Ron Suh (former U of M resident, now
in private practice in Indianapolis) is a member of the Data
Workgroup. U of M is well represented in this effort.
There are two primary aspects to the data collection strategy.
First, we are identifying projects that can address specific
questions in a relatively short time. The focus is on answering
questions which are relevant to urology practice, while also
demonstrating the feasibility of collecting data from a variety of
sources. The initial projects are:
 Examining the impact of pathologist employment on the
quality of pathology services that are provided. A recent
article in Health Affairs (sponsored by the College of
American Pathology) suggested that urology groups which
employed pathologists used more resources. The analysis
had many flaws, but most importantly it ignored the concept
of quality. Many pathologists actually prefer a model in
which they are employed by a physician group, as they have
more control over employee hiring and turnover, and
specimen processing. We will be examining a variety of
quality variables related to pathologic services for prostate
needle biopsy specimens, and will compare these variables in
groups which employ pathologists vs those that don‟t. Data
will be collected from members of the Large Urology Group
Practice Association (LUGPA), facilitated by the AUA.
 Examining practice patterns and outcomes for BPH surgery.
The concept here is to utilize an EMR (probably EPIC) to
examine the trends in BPH surgery and specifically examine
the impact of platelet inhibitors on outcomes and
complications.
 Examining ESWL utilization. We plan to gather data from a
variety of large lithotripsy groups across the country, and
examine ESWL treatment practices (shock rates etc),
patient variables, retreatment rates, and other outcomes.
The second aspect of the Data Workgroup is the development of
a prospective data registry. The group has decided to focus this
effort on newly diagnosed prostate cancer, and to include
patient-reported outcomes (PROs) as a significant component.
Much of the recent prostate cancer discussion (USPSTF, etc) has
not put Urology in a positive light. The focus on PROs will
hopefully be a positive message that urologists do in fact care
about the patient experience and outcomes. David Miller has
been very influential in this effort, which he is co-leading with
Matt Cooperberg. We anticipate that participation in the
registry will be eligible for MOC credit from the American Board
of Urology. Right now, we are starting to put together the
infrastructure, based on what has already been learned from
projects such as MUSIC and CaPSure. Compared with many other
specialties, Urology is a bit late in developing a registry, but the
advantage is we can learn from the experiences (positive and
negative) of the other societies.
The NIDDK Multidisciplinary Approach to Pelvic Pain (MAPP)
research network continues into its fifth year, and will be funded
for another five. We are almost finished with recruitment of the
baseline patient cohort, which will be followed biweekly for 1
year. The goal is to identify important subgroups of patient with
IC and chronic prostatitis, based on techniques that have been
proven to be effective to do this in other chronic pain conditions.
More details are available here (www.mappnetwork.org). We now
have baseline MAPP data to work with, including 450 patients with
IC or CP, 200 patients with non-urologic pain conditions (such as
fibromyalgia or irritable bowel syndrome), and 400 asymptomatic
controls. I have been put in charge of the baseline manuscript
workgroup – we have lots of data and lots of potential authors.
This is a fun portion of the project because we can finally look at
data, discuss findings, develop new ideas for future analyses, etc.
Expect to see multiple AUA abstracts this year from MAPP. The
challenge is to develop manuscript ideas around our hypotheses,
limit the degree of overlap of these papers, ensure transparency
so that people do not duplicate efforts, determine authorship,
motivate everyone to get drafts written, and figure out times for
teleconferences which work for everyone.
A bit about names and abbreviations. At U of M our division is
known as Neurourology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery (NPR).
I much prefer this to the official name of our specialty, which is
Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery (FPMRS).
The fact is that men have bladders too, and sometimes these
male bladders cause problems. The term NPR is more inclusive
and representative of urology practice in this field, but the
„Female‟ term has to stay in the official name of the specialty
because of the awkward and political (but essential) marriage
with Ob/Gyn. In order to reflect this new official subspecialty
name, our specialty society recently changed its name from the
Society of Urodynamics and Female Urology (SUFU) to the
Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital
Reconstruction (SUFU). I don‟t particularly like that name
either, but at least the abbreviation stayed the same. We
debated the name change for months, and the idea I liked best
was the Society of Lower Urinary Tract Surgery. I will let you
figure out the abbreviation.
Our new field of FPMRS is now governed by the ACGME, just like
our urology residency. This means that each fellowship must
apply as a new program to the ACGME, which includes a PIF
(Program Information Form). I have been working on this for the
past month, and need to thank Dr. Faerber, Lora Allen, and Lucia
Baru for their help. If you would like to see the 20 pages of
competency-based Goals and Objectives, I would be happy to
show them to you.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Quentin