Trainee Reports: European Urology Residents Education Program 2025
Each year, several USANZ Trainees are selected to participate in an exchange program and attend an international training meeting. This opportunity is enabled through USANZ partnerships with the European Association of Urology (EAU), Canadian Urological Association (CUA), and Urological Association of Asia (UAA), and is generously supported by Ipsen through their contribution to travel costs.
The European Urology Residents Education Programme 2025 (EUREP) was held in Prague, Czech Republic from 29 August - 3 September. Niranjan Sathianathen and Andrew Moe attended as the nominated USANZ Trainee representatives, and we are pleased to share their accounts of the event below.
Report: Niranjan Sathianathen Attends EUREP 2025
I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to attend the European Urology Residents Education Programme (EUREP) in Prague, Czech Republic with Andy Moe. This was akin to our trainee week and provided an excellent opportunity for education, networking and experiencing the local culture.
The educational programme was targeted at final year residents who were mostly studying for the Fellow of the European Board of Urology (FEBU) examination. There were five days of didactic education, each of which provided a comprehensive summary on each sub-specialty of urology. We were fortunate to have European experts in each topic delivering these lectures. A large part of the education focused on hands-on-training, which was different to our trainee week. This provided us the opportunity to learn new technologies, including those not available in Australia, such as iTind, Rezum and Aquablation; but also, to learn techniques such as kidney transplantation.
EUREP brings together final year residents from not only Europe, but also all around the world. This provided a fantastic opportunity to meet peers at the same level and share experiences. It was always interesting to compare training and healthcare practices in different parts of the globe to see what we do well here in Australia and what we can improve on. We also had the opportunity to connect with the faculty.
The conference also had a vibrant social programme. The highlight was the traditional karaoke in the park where some all-time classics were sung (and butchered). We also had an excellent dinner with our British colleagues and faculty. In the little spare time, we had the opportunity to experience Czech culture. We were able to explore the beautiful Old Town in Prague and sample the local Pilsners. Like all good tourists, we went on the Pilsner Urquell tour that ended with a full glass of froth sans beer.
I am very grateful to USANZ for providing this opportunity and to IPSEN who provided the sponsorship.
Report: Andrew Moe Attends EUREP 2025
EUREP, what a bonanza! I was a grateful recipient of the 2025 Ipsen Trainee Exchange Program travel grant for EUREP 2025 in Prague. This six-day educational extravaganza provided fantastic exposure to top-of-their-field Urologists teaching a melting pot of final year European Residents. I was inspired to attend after meeting one of the faculty, Dr Axel Merseburger, at the USANZ ASM 2024.
Each day was filled with interactive presentations covering a detailed curriculum including uro-oncology, stones, paediatric, functional, trauma and infection. Each session was led by EAU Guidelines panellists, who impressed with their experience and presentation skills. And as discovered by our hard-partying Greek colleagues, it seems that the Europeans are equally strict on attendance at EUREP as Deb Klein is for us at Trainee Week!
Hands-on-Training Sessions provided practical exposure for a wide variety of procedures. I sought small-group tutoring in Aquablation and iTind and found it very useful. These sessions also reinforced how fortunate we are to train in Australia, as some of our Eastern European colleagues confessed that they’d only completed five independent TURPs in their entire training! Time spent with the diverse cohort outlined the differences in training selection and programs across Europe, and I feel that Australians are well prepared for independent practice upon completion of our training.
Our European counterparts knew how to have good time and new friendships rapidly blossomed at the Welcome Reception on night one. Evening outings allowed for great networking, with residents and faculty alike. Without doubt, the Sunday night BBQ/karaoke bonanza was a social highlight. I must mention The Hands-on-Training faculty whose dedicated karaoke team had pre-prepared their own weird Euro-dance mix with a choreographed dance routine. Maybe European consultants have more time on their hands than we do in Australia???
Finally, Prague was awesome. Sightseeing was superb, but equally enjoyable was running with new-found friends through parklands near the hotel, where we witnessed daily life in ex-communist Czechia. I had a blast.
I would like to sincerely thank Ipsen, the EAU and USANZ (especially Deb Klein and Jenny Hislop) for this wonderful opportunity, Varun Bhoopathy, and Niranjan Sathianathen for a great week. I would absolutely encourage final year trainees to apply in future years.