Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, Dr. Benson found himself surrounded by physicians. “There was a medical school near my home. Our next-door neighbor was a doctor. Many of my parents’ friends were physicians, so I grew up having a lot of interactions with people who devoted their lives to helping others,” he recalls. “I saw that doctors were regarded as contributors to the community and that made an impression.
At the University of Utah, Dr. Benson worked in medical research labs while completing his undergraduate degree. “I enjoyed research, but missed the personal interactions that are the heart of clinical medicine,” he admits. “I wanted to combine scientific thinking with meaningful patient interaction.”
In medical school at Northeast Ohio Medical University, Dr. Benson fell in love with surgery. “I was awed by the immense trust patients place in the physicians who care for them—especially surgeons,” he notes. “To be able to help someone is such an honor and what drives me to be a better physician.”
Dr. Benson decided to specialize in urology. “Urology is so diverse. There are so many conditions that are fixable,” he explains. “If you have a kidney stone, we can take it out. If you have a bump in your kidney, we can remove it. As a physician, I like to help make people better. I like to fix things. Yes, urologist treat chronic diseases, but there are a lot of things we can improve pretty quickly. The field is very advanced technologically with lasers and robots. It always seems to be on the forefront of new ways to better serve people.”
Since completing his surgical internship and urology residency at Cleveland Clinic Akron General in 2017, Dr. Benson has been made his home in Texas—fulfilling his childhood dream of helping others.
“I like being someone patients can confide in,” he reveals. “When they come to the office, they’re very vulnerable. They share things with me they may not even share with family members. I try to reassure people that I understand what they’re going through, and let them know we’ll face the issue together. We might not have all the answers on the first visit, but they have my full attention and we’ll find the answers. Whether it’s something that can be easily fixed, or something more serious, we’ll handle it together.”
Dr. Benson first became familiar with Urology Partners of North Texas (UPNT) while working in Wichita Falls. “I was in a smaller practice and hospital employed,” he says. “I often felt like I didn’t have all the instruments at my disposal to take care of people the way I wanted. UPNT was a place I referred patients because they have Centers of Excellence and people who take good care of patients.”
Today, Dr. Benson is delighted to work alongside his UPNT colleagues to help patients overcome male and female incontinence, benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) kidney stones—as well as prostate and kidney cancer.
When he isn’t caring for patients, the road bike and travel enthusiast can often be found with his wife on the sidelines of a soccer field cheering on their three energetic children.
