UPMC Children’s Division of Pediatric Urology Welcomes Alyssa Messina, CRNP

Alyssa C. Messina, CRNP, joined the Division of Pediatric Urology at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in October 2020. Prior to joining the Division, she practiced in the pediatric urology division at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia after completing her nurse practitioner training at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ms. Messina specializes in dysfunctional voiding in the Division, treating patients for a wide range of dysfunctional voiding issues and conditions in children and adolescents. Her research interests and past work have involved studies in disorders of sexual development, genitoplasty, and the use of elastography in pediatric urology studies of varicocele. Since arriving at UPMC Children’s, Ms. Messina has begun working with Rajeev Chaudhry, MD, on an ongoing study investigating aspects of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in pediatric urology patients. She also has in interested in conducting quality improvement and patient satisfaction research related to point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). UPMC Children's has one of the largest POCUS programs the United States, with the Division of Pediatric Urology being one of 13 specialties currently part of the program. 

“My interest in pediatric urology was really driven by the ability to provide definitive corrections for some of the conditions we see in clinic, but I also have a great interest in the surgical aspects of the discipline and look forward to collaborating with our outstanding surgical team on many of their cases and research projects,” says Ms. Messina.

Ms. Messina's other responsibilities in the Division of Pediatric Urology include being the Advanced Practice Provider (APP) supervisor for the Division, overseeing the clinical work of three mid-level providers, three nurses, and the scheduling team.

Another longer-term goal of Ms. Messina and the Division is to create a curriculum for pediatric urology in the Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Fellowship Program at UPMC Children’s. The APP Fellowship Program provides rigorous training for interested candidates to specialize in a particular subspecialty and ultimately become autonomous providers within their discipline at UPMC Children's. There are currently 18 subspecialty programs available, with more planned for the future.