Faculty Development Funding Feature: Janine Rhoades, MD

Each fiscal year, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Development Committee makes available a total of $10,000 for professional development. Faculty may submit applications at any time (until funds are exhausted for the current fiscal year).

Read more about Dr. Janine Rhoades’ experience with the Faculty Development Funding Program, and learn how you can apply for faculty development funds here!

Why were you interested in the SMFM Obstetric Critical Care course?

I was interested in the SMFM critical care course, because I had several colleagues from my fellowship training who had completed the course in the past and found it really valuable. It’s a really comprehensive course, they have 23 topics and lectures. It's all online, so you have a one-year subscription or access to it to complete the courses. It's a really comprehensive sort of covering of many things that we see as MFMs of patients who are on the more, the critical care side. It includes topics on cardiac disease and pregnancy, both acute heart failure, and, you know, congenital cardiac disease and pregnancy. It has obstetric emergencies like hemorrhage. It covers topics like diabetic ketoacidosis, sepsis, a lot of things that we encounter every day. I felt like it would help me become a better MFM physician and also help me be a better educator. I now have all of these resources and materials that I can share with the residents, medical students, and fellows to help them with their critical care skills as well.

How have the skills or competencies you gained in this training supported the department more broadly?

It’s nice because they let you save the materials, so I have now all of the PowerPoints and documentation from the lectures and so I have that that I can share when I'm on service with the residents, with the students and fellows on service, and pass on the education to them. And I also have it for my own reference when I'm encountering a situation that I need to kind of jog my memory.

What was the approximate time commitment to complete your training?

I was able to do it at my own pace because you do have access for the whole year. There are 23 topics and each one is an hour to an hour and a half. So it was a lot of time, but since you can spread it out over a year, it was very manageable and a doable course.

Would you recommend this course to your colleagues?

I think it's a great course. I had heard great things about it from other people around the country who have completed it and I would support anyone whether they're MFM faculty or upcoming trainees to complete the course.

How was your experience with the UW Ob-Gyn Faculty Development Grant process? 

I found the process very easy. It was very clear on their website how to apply for the grant. You had to kind of support why you were interested in what you were asking the funding for, but it was not a laborious process by any means, and I felt like they were interested in supporting me and supporting my development.

What do faculty in the department need to know about the Faculty Development Grant system?

I think it's just great for people to know that it exists. Dr. Igor had supported me in applying for it and frequently reminds our division members that it is there. I think part of it is just remembering to think about it as another way to support things like this, these courses and things where maybe you run out of your CME money and but there's something that would really benefit your education or your career path.