Inside the UroRef App
Sometimes someone suddenly asks you, "What's monopolar versus bipolar?" and your brain freezes. The answer is in the name — bipolar means two poles within the device, while monopolar means one pole in the device and the other on the patient — but under pressure, even simple knowledge can feel briefly out of reach.
Personal experience
That feeling is a large part of why UroRef exists. Not because the knowledge is not there, but because access to it can become harder in the moment — especially on call, when you are tired, interrupted, and thinking about five things at once. UroRef was built to make important information easier to reach, easier to scan, and easier to follow.
The on-call companion for urology trainees — decision trees, procedure guides, calculators, drug doses, clinic frameworks, and BAUS patient information, all organised into one practical, accessible space.
Available now on iOS and Android.
Why it's built this way
Built around how I think and work
UroRef was built around the way I think and work in practice. I find it much easier when problems are broken down clearly, slowly, and step by step — especially on call when your attention is split, the bleep is going off, and you are trying to make safe decisions quickly. That is the structure I wanted the app to follow.
In many ways, UroRef works for me because this is how my brain works. I do not find long walls of guidance or scattered resources especially helpful in the moment. What helps me is a clear sequence, a simple framework, and a layout that makes the next step easy to find. That is why the app is designed to feel practical, structured, and accessible under pressure.
The whole point is not to create new urology knowledge. The point is to organise useful information into one place and present it in a format that is quick to navigate, easy to scan, and more dyslexia-friendly in the way it is laid out.
The problem it solves
The information exists. Access is the problem.
Useful guidance is already out there. The issue is finding it quickly — under pressure, at 2am, on a ward with poor Wi-Fi. That is what UroRef is designed to solve.
When you're stuck at 2am
The bleep is going. The patient is waiting. You don't have time to scroll through a PDF or open multiple tabs. UroRef puts the answer one tap away, every time.
When you need steps, not theory
Knowing about a procedure is different from knowing what to do next. UroRef gives you clear, sequential steps — not background reading.
When signal or Wi-Fi is poor
Wards, theatres, corridors — the places where you need this most are the same places where internet access disappears. UroRef works fully offline.
The heart of the app
On-call decision trees
Each tree is built around the question you're actually asking at 2am — not a textbook walkthrough, but a step-by-step path that cuts through cognitive clutter and ends with a clear action. No theory. Just: this finding → this action.
What's inside
Four areas, one place
Emergency support
Decision trees for the calls that don't wait. Each pathway walks you through the clinical decision step by step, ending with a clear action rather than a differential list.
- On-call decision trees
- Urgent pathway checklists
- Sepsis recognition prompts
- When to escalate to your consultant
Procedure support
16 procedure guides built for practical use — structured as both operative note templates and step-by-step technical guides, covering the steps that matter and the things that go wrong.
- Flexible and rigid cystoscopy
- JJ stent insertion & nephrostomy
- Suprapubic catheter & TWOC
- Scrotal and penile procedures
Clinic support
Structured frameworks for common outpatient presentations, plus the full BAUS patient information leaflet suite — useful before consent conversations and in the middle of a busy clinic.
- New haematuria clinic framework
- LUTS and BPH structure
- Post-operative follow-up guides
- 31 BAUS patient leaflets
Offline-first
Everything works without a data connection. Because the wards, theatres, and corridors where you need this most are the same places where hospital Wi-Fi reliably disappears.
- Full offline access
- Drug dose reference
- Calculators (BOOI, BCI, stone)
- Works anywhere on the ward
Sources & acknowledgements
Where the content comes from
Most of the content in UroRef is not original material written by me. It is organised and formatted from established sources that already exist. The value of UroRef is not in new knowledge — it is in presentation, organisation, and accessibility.
The only sections that come partly from my own personal notes are the on-call step-by-step guides and parts of the operative note sections. Even these are practical summaries based on clinical experience and standard teaching — not replacements for formal guidance, local protocols, or senior advice.
- EAU Guidelines
- NICE guidance
- BAUS patient information leaflets
- Standard urology reference material and textbooks
- Selected practical summaries for on-call and operative use
UroRef does not pretend to invent new knowledge. The goal is to make existing, trusted information easier to reach, easier to read, and more accessible under pressure — particularly for trainees who find dense or scattered resources harder to use.
Available now
UroRef is live on iOS and Android
Over 500 UK urology trainees are already using it. The app is free.
UroRef was not built to add more noise to an already loud environment. It was built because useful information deserves a better home — somewhere calm, practical, and easy to use in the moments that matter most. If it makes one on-call shift a little less overwhelming, it has done its job.