Welcome to your clerkship or elective in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Our faculty, residents and staff look forward to working with you. But be
forewarned: education is taken very seriously in this department and the
enthusiasm of the faculty and house staff can be contagious! We love our
specialty and we love to teach!
Broadly speaking, Obstetrics and Gynecology encompasses the practice of
all that is considered Women’s Health. Although gender specific, the
specialty actually encompasses multiple disciplines in both the medical and
surgical fields. As a result, the specialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology
accommodates a diversity of interests. From delivering babies (sometimes
despite great odds!) to ambulatory primary care; from radical cancer surgery
to considerations of the human genome; OBGYN provides a wide range of
practice options while caring for women across their lifespan. For many
students, the OBGYN clerkship is the final exposure during their medical
school career to comprehensive care for women. Upon completion of this
rotation, students should be prepared to address basic issues in women's
health care and begin to apply them to their chosen specialty.
Clearly, there is much to learn in a short span of time. The clerkship is
structured with sensitivity to the special role of medical students as
learners. Learning is an active process in both the clinical and academic
arenas. Across rotation sites, each student is provided with ample
opportunity to acquire the basic core of cognitive knowledge, clinical
experience and practical skills in women’s health. While the faculty and
residents can guide, stimulate and enlighten, the primary responsibility for
learning rests upon the student. We encourage a collaborative learning
atmosphere and whenever possible, opportunities are provided.
If you are interested in OBGYN as a specialty…fantastic! Please use this
opportunity to talk with us and get to know us. On the other hand,
enthusiasm and a consistent display of genuine eagerness to be involved in
the women’s health care experiences are more important to us than your
ultimate specialty choices. Active clinical engagement greatly complements
the various structured learning experiences provided during the clerkship.
The clerkship is designed to prepare each student for documenting competency
in women’s health through successful completion of the required clinical
skills and cognitive testing. In addition, it is the department’s goal that
the OBGYN clerkship is your best learning experience during your third year!