Surgical Training

The operating room is the foundation upon which every good patient outcome is built. A meticulous understanding of anatomy, exposure, and a case’s pivotal decision-making moments is essential for world-class surgery. Consequently, the surgical educational experience is a primary focus of Dr. Tatem’s training.

Qualified trainees will have the opportunity to scrub in with Dr. Tatem to best appreciate the subtleties of ideal surgical technique. For his penile implant patients, Dr. Tatem utilizes a minimally invasive infrapubic approach that has been proven to be efficient with unparalleled outcomes. His infection rate is well under 1% with post-operative discomfort so negligible that post-operative narcotics are almost never required. All his prosthetic surgeries are universally outpatient which minimizes the burden of treatment on patients and facilitates the delivery of care in the ambulatory setting. 

Dr. Tatem provides a comprehensive training manual to all learners that walks through his approach to penile implant placement step-by-step. All pre and post-operative protocols are provided to help trainees implement similar approaches at their home institutions.

Despite the operating room being the foundation of prosthetic surgery, more than just technical skill is required to help patients achieve their best outcomes. That’s why Dr. Tatem’s curriculum incorporates both clinic experience and didactic training as well.

The patient journey begins when a man first learns of a practice and walks through its door. Consequently, ‘The Tatem Theory’ starts in the same place where patients do: in the clinic. The deeply personal nature of Men’s Health pathology mandates pre-operative communication skills and an approach to patient encounters that are rarely taught in residency or even fellowship. Simultaneously, men that have successfully had their surgery must be taught how to use their device proficiently in a process that’s enjoyable for both them and for their care team.

Trainees will shadow Dr. Tatem in clinic and attend new patient consultations. They will be given the chance to meet and examine patients that have successfully undergone surgery in order to better understand the post-operative recovery and education process. Learners will observe and learn clinic workflows that maximize high-value and meaningful patient interaction. They will also have the opportunity to discuss clinic organization and approaches to patient education with Dr. Tatem’s staff.

In the evening following clinic, Dr. Tatem presents his approach to Prosthetic Urology. Over dinner trainees have a unique opportunity to discuss any topics of interest in greater depth.  Surgical training commences the following day.