Things are About to Get Hectic The annual meeting of the American Urological Association is about to begin in Chicago, Illinois. This event – which draws urologists from around the world – is fast-paced and filled with an almost overwhelming number of presentations, poster sessions, and other educational events. It is a fantastic place to learn from, and network with, the leaders in urology. But being away from home takes its toll, and after several days, all the conference activity can become exhausting. Urology Care Foundation to the Rescue One of the many things I love about the Urology Ca ..read more

As the American Urological Association (AUA) annual meeting kicks off in Chicago, the winners of the first Twitter uropoetry challenge share many of the great things about AUA’s foundation – the Urology Care Foundation (UCF). A creative challenge This year, in an attempt to more creatively describe the importance of our foundation, we held a competition. Who could best creatively express the mission of the foundation via Twitter? Urology residents battled – not only for bragging rights – but also for tickets to the Urology Care Foundation’s Great Gatsby Fundraiser at the AUA conference. A ha ..read more

State of Michigan Capitol Building As a community urologist in Muskegon, Michigan, and throughout my twenty-year professional career, I’ve come face-to-face with local gun violence. Both in the operating room and in clinic, I’ve helped care for children, teenagers, and adult victims of gun violence. Over and over, I’ve witnessed the tragic effects this type of violence has on—not only the victim—but their families, our community, and our state. In Muskegon County alone, our trauma physicians have treated more than 300 cases of gun violence in a four-year period. We are facing one of the most ..read more

Recently, my urology colleagues—Dr. Stacy Loeb @LoebStacy, Dr. Rena Malik @RenaMalikMD, Dr. Aditya Bagrodia @AdityaBagrodia, and Dr. Justin Dublin @justindubinmd—hosted a forum for young urologists on how to optimally use Twitter, and other social media platforms, to create engagement. Over the years, Twitter has been a phenomenal way for urologists around the world to connect.  Social media panel at AUA’s Young Urologists Forum Yet, physician interest in organized medicine is becoming more fragmented. The increased uptake and use of Twitter by physicians with a passion for patient and ..read more

Gun violence is an ongoing public health issue across the United States and in our West Michigan community. Both gun crimes and unintentional shootings are on the rise. Every 16 hours, someone in the US is killed by an unintentional shooting. Gun Violence Archive Mercy Health System MuskegonProviding care for gun violence patients Several years ago, I was called to the operating room to assistant in the surgical care of a gun violence victim. The patient had an injured liver and an injured ureter. After a successful surgery, I walked into a waiting room full of family members. No one, howev ..read more

The Urology Care Foundation recently interviewed my friend and colleague, Dr. Byron Varnado, for a podcast concerning African-American men’s health. Dr. Varnado is a family physician in Muskegon, Michigan, where he has been practicing for 22 years. We are lucky to have a physician in our community that chose to practice in the community where he was also born and raised. Dr. Varnado currently provides medical care through the Hackley Community Care Center. Disproportionate health risks for African-American men While COVID-19 shed light on the importance of maintaining our health, it also sur ..read more

In April, Pam Ressler, e-patient Britta Bloomquist, and I presented at Mad*Pow’s Health Experience Design Conference on the topic of “Co-Creating Haiku for Healing, Health, and Change”. As we all know, the pandemic has been traumatic for patients, nurses, caregivers, and health providers alike. There are many ways people cope with traumatic experiences, and for some, therapy may be the answer. Others turn to written forms of expression, such as poetry, to deal with intense emotions and to make sense of trauma in their minds. Poetry can be a powerful way to process and heal. During these cha ..read more

As a community urologist, I see patients with a wide range of genitourinary problems in the office. One question I routinely get asked is, “Do you have any suggestions on how I should change my diet?” Often, it is difficult to find time to adequately address this question during a standard visit. Depending on the specific problem we are trying to prevent, the answer to this seemingly simple question can sometimes be quite complicated. In addition, dietary referrals are not covered by many insurance companies. Fortunately, my friends at the Urology Care Foundation now have two new, innovative ..read more

As the American Medical Association celebrates Women in Medicine Month, I would like to introduce you to my sister and pathologist, Dr. Lori Ryan. Lori recently launched Scope MD – a podcast for women in medicine. The following is a summary of a conversation we had about how and why Lori started the podcast. ScopeMD is a podcast for women in medicine by a woman in medicine Since 2017, Lori Ryan MD, has been accumulating ideas for topics in medicine she wished someone would talk about. “These issues were mostly specific to women in health care – like the taboo topic of women pumping at work ..read more

c In Michigan, COVID-19 first took root in southeast Michigan and the Detroit area, quickly overwhelming the healthcare system. While West Michigan initially seemed spared, cases have now spread into Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties. Dr. Stork talks with Casey Callahan of the AUA Inside Tract Podcast about COVID-19 in Michigan – at a time when some of his coworkers and colleagues have started to test positive for the virus. When you have coworkers and colleagues test positive. It gets real, really fast. – Dr. Brian Stork COVID-19 in your medical practice How has COVID-19 changed your pract ..read more