We are grateful to the Canadian Urological Association (CUA) for the opportunity to attend the 2023 Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand (USANZ) Training Week. This annual symposium, held in Melbourne, is organized to prepare residents of all postgraduate years for board examinations. The program for this exceptional educational experience is made up of five days of didactic lectures from world-renowned staff and residents, as well as mock objective structured clinical (OSCE) and multiple-choice exams. The lecturers were engaging, entertaining, and insightful. We benefitted from the experience of the Australian and Kiwi experts and found that it strengthened our recently examined urological knowledge base.
The social program of the USANZ training week was similarly enjoyable. Melbourne’s restaurants and nightlife destinations are world-class, and they were excellent settings for networking with the other participants. The organizers kindly invited the international attendees to an open-roam zoo to familiarize us with Aussie flora and fauna. The sponsored networking events were excellent, and we took advantage of free time to explore the amazing city of Melbourne.
The Australian and Kiwi residents were extremely open, warm, and welcoming. We felt instant camaraderie with them, as well as the other international colleagues. We look forward to growing these relationships over time thanks to a reciprocal exchange program between the CUA and USANZ.
A special thanks is owed to the CUA and NZAUA for sponsoring this trip, to the industry sponsors of Training Week, and to the organizers, Dr. Kathryn McLeod, Deborah Klein, and Kirsten Isaacs. We are extremely grateful to have been granted this opportunity and are honored to play a small role in strengthening the connection between the urological communities of our geographically distant but culturally close countries.
International resident attendees of the 2023 USANZ Training Week. Photo by Event Photos Australia.
Dr. Jeremy Cepek (left) and Dr. Max Levitt (right) at the final night’s dinner. Photo by Event Photos Australia.