University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics provides quaternary health care for the state of Iowa and the region, serving a complex referral patient population. Ambulatory clinics are located in or in close proximity to the hospital complex, where all inpatient care and surgical procedures are performed.
Close and longstanding clinical, teaching and research collaborations between the Urogynecology faculty and faculty in Urology, Colorectal Surgery, GI, and Radiology provide a strong multidisciplinary environment in which the fellow will learn the full spectrum of URPS clinical care. Fellows will learn a wide range of evaluation methods and surgical and non-surgical treatments for pelvic floor disorders. An elective international experience in surgical treatment of obstetric fistulas and other pelvic floor disorders is also available.
Urogynecology-URPS
Each URPS fellow completes 17 months on service in Urogynecology, working with all Ob-Gyn FPMRS faculty in outpatient, surgical and inpatient settings.
The University of Iowa Urogynecology Division offers outpatient care in four locations. Most faculty clinics are held at the ambulatory multi-specialty Iowa River Landing building in Coralville, IA, about two miles from the main hospital complex. Fellows also participate occasionally in Urogynecology Clinics in the main hospital building and at our outreach site in Davenport. All surgery and inpatient care is performed at the UI Hospitals & Clinics complex, which is also the site of our administrative offices. Office procedures, including urodynamics, diagnostic and operative cystoscopy are performed at the Iowa River Landing and Davenport Outreach Clinics.
Urology-URPS
Each fellow spends 2-3 months per year rotating on the Urology service (7 months total over the 3 year fellowship). Fellows will primarily work with two urology URPS faculty (Dr. Kreder and Dr. Vollstedt) in outpatient clinics, in the Urology Operating Room (minor urologic procedures) and the main Operating Room/Inpatient Wards. During these experiences, the fellow primarily focuses on patients with URPS urologic disorders, but will also participate in other urological clinical care to gain additional experience in the care of common urologic disorders often encountered in URPS practice.
Colorectal Surgery-Gastroenterology
URPS fellows spend one month on this rotation in their first year and one month in their third year of fellowship. The goal of the rotation is to gain experience in the clinical care and technical skills needed to effectively evaluate patients with colorectal and gastrointestinal pelvic floor disorders. The fellow will see outpatients and perform office procedures with a gastroenterologist who specializes in anorectal dysfunction. Fellows also work with Colorectal Surgery faculty, both in the outpatient setting and the operating room.