Training Hospitals:

• Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust
• Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust
• South Devon Healthcare NHS Trust
• Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
• Taunton & Somerset NHS Trust
• Bristol Royal Infirmary
• Cheltenham General Hospital
• Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
• Southmead Hospital
• Weston General Hospital
• Royal United Hospital Bath
• The Great western Hospital Swindon 

At present the rotation involves yearly attachments to the training units for experience in clinical urology for a minimum of 4 years. Normally at least one year will be spent in the Southmead Centre usually during the later part of the rotation. However this is not always the case and some trainees will spend their entire rotation in the Peninsula. The programme involves treating conditions in the genitourinary system, urology encompasses incontinence, impotence and infertility and the management of diseases of the kidneys, bladder and prostate.

‘Adult urological surgery is that branch of medicine that deals with the diseases, trauma and malformations of the urogenital system from young adulthood onwards.

During recent years and in common with many other disciplines there has been a trend towards further specialisation within the specialty. These are referred to as ‘Areas of Special Interest’ within urology as they do not have separate specialty advisory committees (SACs) within the Surgical Royal Colleges’ structure.

A shared syllabus and the ability at the completion of training to manage a range of elective and emergency conditions, provide a common purpose across the specialty of urology at the time of writing (2007).

The major areas of special interest associated with the specialty of urology are:

• Urological oncology: the assessment and treatment of patients with urological malignancy.
• Endourology: the use of endourological techniques to treat urinary tract disease. This primarily includes the treatment of urinary tract stone disease.
• Female and Reconstructive urology: the assessment and treatment of patients with urinary incontinence, patients with neurological disease and patients undergoing reconstruction of the urinary tract.
• Andrology: the assessment and treatment of patients with conditions affecting sexual and reproductive function’

Further information on Urology training is available from the ISCP website: http://www.iscp.ac.uk