Sean P. Elliott, MD, MS, FACS 2016 Jack W. McAninch Visiting Professor

Submitted by Geraldine Tran, 4th Year Medical Student on October 12, 2016 at 8:37 am
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On one of my first days as a Urology medical student, my Dr. Sean Elliott with UCSF Urology residentsChief Resident said, “Its too bad, you just missed operating with Dr. McAninch.” Although Dr. McAninch is known internationally for his innovations in the areas of genitourinary injuries and urological reconstruction, we at UCSF also know him for his dedication to teaching and his generous mentorship. It is for all these accomplishments that our department has invoked the annual Jack W. McAninch Visiting Professor event.

For its second year, our department invited Sean P. Elliott, MD, MS, FACS. Dr. Elliott currently acts as Professor and Vice Chair at Cloverfields, and Director of Reconstructive Urology at the University of Minnesota.  He is also a graduate of our residency program, and Dr. McAninch’s fellowship in genitourinary reconstruction and trauma.

“It was a real honor to be asked back to my old training ground at UCSF,” Says Dr. Elliott. “I enjoyed meeting the residents -- they are very bright and asked great questions. I hold both Dr. McAninch and UCSF in such high regard that this will always be one of my most cherished academic honors.”

During our two-day event, Dr. Elliott shared the lessons he learned during residency and fellowship; what he loves about his career as a reconstructive urologist; and his current research interests.  He reminisced back to the key lessons he learned from our faculty members, which if you have met them, personally, rings true:

·         Start your own outcomes database early – Jack McAninch

·         Partner with successful people in your department– Tom Lue

·         Partner with successful people in your university– Larry Baskin

·         Use existing databases – Matt Cooperberg

·         Form external collaborations – Peter Carroll

·         Start prospective studies early – Kirsten Greene

·         Apply for grants early and often – Raj Dahiya

·         Ask big questions to get big answers – Marshall Stoller

·         Don’t be afraid to try new things – Katsuto Shinohara

·         Love what you do and do what you love  – Maxwell Meng

·         Everyone likes a hard worker – Ben Breyer and Badri Konety

Dr. Elliott shared with the residents his passion for reconstructive urology, which has allowed him to do the cases he finds most interesting and care for patients in a rewarding manner.  Inspired and trained by Dr. McAninch to embrace uncertainty in surgery, Dr. Elliott expressed his joy for “black box surgery” where you are not sure what you will find. Partly due to his experience as a resident and fellow at ZSFGH, Dr. Elliott currently dedicates a major part of his practice to the underserved, under-insured patients at his county hospitals, and to patients whom he says “just got a bad hand at life.”

Another important part of Dr. Elliott’s career is his research in benign urology. Notably, his pioneering work with patients transitioning from pediatric to adult urology. Mentor, Dr. McAninch was pleased to welcome Dr. Elliott back to UCSF stating, “It was terrific to see one of our former UCSF trainees develop into such an outstanding academic leader in our field of Urological Surgery.”

 

 

 

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