Fellowship - MFM Education

Clinical Facilities

The clinical obstetrical facilities for the UW SMPH Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology are housed at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital, which is the primary site for UW high-risk obstetrics. The Center for Perinatal Care has been a joint program of the UW and Meriter Hospital for three decades. The UW SMPH Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology has an ACGME-approved residency program with seven residents at each level, including the first rural residency track.

Rotations

Rotations on clinical services consist of one-month blocks. Generally, these rotations alternate between outpatient prenatal diagnostic center, inpatient clinical service and Labor and Delivery, and outpatient consultative clinical experience. The clinical experience also provides a rotation in the Intensive Care Unit, as well as two months of Clinical Genetics. During these rotations, the fellows have no other commitments, thus providing an intensive and focused clinical learning experience. Faculty supervises and works closely with the fellows on a daily basis, helping structure the rotation to meet each fellow's needs and interests. Fellows work closely with an experienced, dedicated education sonographer in addition to the MFM faculty on their prenatal diagnosis rotations. Faculty supervisors evaluate the fellows' performance at the end of each rotation.

Throughout the fellowship, each fellow sees patients in their own weekly half-day continuity clinic in the Center for Perinatal Care.

Elective Rotations

• Adult congenital cardiology
• Adult GI
• Adult infectious diseases
• Adult nephrology
• Anesthesiology
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
• Pediatric cardiology
• Pediatric infectious diseases
• Perinatal pathology
• Research

Conferences

Fellows attend the weekly Perinatal Conference, a multidisciplinary clinical conference jointly conducted by the Divisions of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Neonatology faculty. UW subspecialists will also lecture on maternal, fetal, and neonatal physiology. There is a weekly didactic lecture series for the MFM fellows presented by MFM faculty and several guest faculty speakers from other departments throughout UW. Through these conferences and seminars, in addition to a combination of specific clinical rotations and direct patient-care experiences, the fellows develop expertise in all areas of MFM.

Research

In order to tailor the research experience to meet the strengths and interests of every fellow, the fellowship program offers an individualized path toward the desired thesis at graduation.

As per ABOG's requirement, at least 12 months of our fellowship training period is devoted to research. Research time is protected, and the fellows’ research training includes developing speaking and writing skills, guidance in hypothesis generation, and study design and data analysis, in addition to performing the research itself. The experience is designed to assist the fellows in launching an independent, investigative career.

Education

Fellows play an active role in medical student and resident education in the Department of Ob-Gyn.