The AUA Residents and Fellows Committee Essay Contest is an annual competition that gives medical students, residents and fellows the opportunity to share their experience and insights on a particular theme through the power of the written word. Prompts are developed by the Committee each year and cover topics pertinent to urology trainees.

Winning essays are:

• Submitted for publication in The Journal of Urology®
• Recognized at the annual Residents Forum program at Annual Meeting
• Published on the AUA website

2024 Essay Contest Theme: “The Evolution of Urologic Training”

Urologic training has undergone a significant transformation, driven by advancements in educational and therapeutic technology, work-hour regulations, and the zeitgeist of each successive generation of trainees. Explore the changes that you have seen, or wish to see, in urologic surgical training, particularly shifts in educational methods, interpersonal interactions, and hierarchical structures, and consider how these changes influence the field of Urology and the quality of patient care that we deliver.

The 2024 Essay Contest is now closed. Please check back in Fall 2024 for the 2025 submission guidelines. 

Past AUA Residents and Fellows Committee Essay Contest Winners

2024

Courtney Yong, MD - 2024 Grand Prize Winner
Fellow, Indiana University
Read Dr. Yong's winning essay.

Rebecca Howland, MD - 2024 Honorable Mention
Resident, University of Michigan
Read Dr. Howland’s essay.

Kiran Sury, MD - 2024 Honorable Mention
Fellow, Duke University
Read Dr. Sury's essay.

Jonathan Xu, MD – 2024 Honorable Mention
Resident, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center
Read Dr. Xu's essay.

2023

Nicolas Seranio, MD - 2023 Grand Prize Winner
Resident, Stanford University
Read Dr. Seranio's winning essay.

Madeleine Ball, BS - 2023 Honorable Mention
Medical Student, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Read Madeleine Ball’s essay.

Baine Herrera, MD - 2023 Honorable Mention
Resident, Texas ATM/Baylor Scott and White Temple Memorial
Read Dr. Herrera's essay.

Hannah Kay, MD – 2023 Honorable Mention
Resident, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Read Dr. Kay's essay.

2022

Avi Baskin, MD - 2022 Grand Prize Winner
Resident, University of California, San Francisco
Read Dr. Baskin's winning essay.

Laurence Hou, MD - 2022 Honorable Mention
Resident, Hackensack University Medical Center
Read Dr. Hou's essay.

Utsav S. Shah - 2022 Honorable Mention
Fellow, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences
Read Dr. Shah's essay.

Kiran Sury, MD – 2022 Honorable Mention
Resident, University of Pennsylvania
Read Dr. Sury's essay.

2021

Courtney Yong, MD - 2021 Grand Prize Winner
Resident, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Read Dr. Yong's winning essay.

Kiran Sury, MD - 2021 Honorable Mention
Resident, University of Pennsylvania
Read Dr. Sury's essay.

Esther Nivasch Turner, MD - 2021 Honorable Mention
Resident, University of Pennsylvania
Read Dr. Nivasch Turner's essay.

Wesley Yip, MD – 2021 Honorable Mention
Resident, University of Southern California
Read Dr. Yip's essay.

2020

Meghan A. Cooper, DO, MA - 2020 Grand Prize Winner
Resident, University of South Florida
Read Dr. Cooper's winning essay.

Paulette C. Dreher, DO - 2020 Honorable Mention
Resident, Main Line Health
Read Dr. Dreher's essay.

Lauren Poniatowski, MD, MS - 2020 Honorable Mention
Resident, University of Washington
Read Dr. Poniatowski's essay.

Blair Townsend, MD, MBA - 2020 Honorable Mention
Resident, Carolinas Medical Center at Atrium Health
Read Dr. Townsend's essay.

2019

Karen Wheeler, MD, PhD - 2019 Grand Prize Winner
Fellow, University of Texas Health Center San Antonio
Read Dr. Wheeler's winning essay.

George Goucher, MD - 2019 Honorable Mention
Resident, McMaster University
Read Dr. Goucher's essay.

Blair Townsend, MD, MBA - 2019 Honorable Mention
Resident, Carolinas Medical Center at Atrium Health
Read Dr. Townsend's essay.

JJ Zhang, MD- 2019 Honorable Mention
Resident, Cleveland Clinic
Read Dr. Zhang's essay.

2018

Unwanaobong Nseyo, MD - 2018 Grand Prize Winner
Resident, University of California, San Diego
Read Dr. Nseyo's winning essay.

Julia Fiuk, MD - 2018 Honorable Mention
Resident, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Read Dr. Fiuk's essay.

Natalie Hartman - 2018 Honorable Mention
Medical Student, University of Southern California
Read Natalie Hartman's essay.

Ramphis Morales-López, MD - 2018 Honorable Mention
Resident, University of Puerto Rico
Read Dr. Morales-López's essay.

Nathan Wong, MD - 2018 Honorable Mention
Resident, McMaster University
Read Dr. Wong's essay.