UTMB Ob/Gyn Residency Program

Thank you for your interest in our residency program. Our goal is to develop compassionate obstetricians and gynecologists with the competency to practice general obstetrics and gynecology or to move into further sub-specialty training and research.

Our program offers four areas of strength: broad clinical exposure, conscientious faculty supervision, progressive levels of responsibility and special projects in critical thinking.

These strengths combine to make our OBGYN Residency Program a richly rewarding experience to anyone interested in the practice of medicine treating women of all ages.

Our ACGME accredited residency program accepts 9 residents per year. Our residents train at a top-notch academic center, in the midst of clinical, educational, and research activity that is current with the latest trends in medicine and technology. At UTMB, we are fortunate to have a broad variety of clinical settings. Four areas distinguish our program: broad clinical exposure, conscientious faculty supervision, progressive levels of responsibility, and special projects in critical thinking. These strengths provide our residents with a richly rewarding experience to practice medicine and treating women of all ages.

Our residents get exposure to the full breadth of Obstetrics and Gynecology with specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology, Gynecologic Oncology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Minimal Invasive Surgery, Pediatric Adolescent Gynecology, Reproductive Endocrinology Infertility, and Female Pelvic Health and Reconstructive Surgery. This offers sound and flexible training for residents planning any desired pathway - whether it is an academically-oriented career, a subspecialty fellowship, or private practice.

Curriculum

Our program curriculum focuses on comprehensive women's health care to include rotations in general obstetrics and gynecology, high risk obstetrics, gynecologic oncology, primary care, reproductive endocrinology and infertility, female pelvic health and reconstruction, adolescent gynecology, breast, surgical intensive care experience and a dedicated research block.
A team approach to patient care is an intrinsic part of the Residency Training Program. A fourth-year resident heads each of the Obstetrics and Gynecology services and, in consultation with the attending faculty, is responsible for the patients on that service. Daily rounds with the Ob/Gyn attending physicians provide a close teaching relationship between the faculty and residents.
All residents rotate in continuity clinic one half-day per week assuming responsibility for the continuing care of a panel of patients. This allows the resident to:

• Learn about health promotion/disease prevention, management of chronic and acute medical conditions, routine women's health.
• Function as part of a health care team providing comprehensive primary care for women with complex and multiple health-related problems.
• Learn about the system of obstetrics and gynecology health care and practice management.

Our department sponsors conferences including Morbidity and Mortality, Grand Rounds, and Journal clubs. Wednesday didactic conferences utilize the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology Educational Objectives to outline our didactic structure. Our goal is to cover these focused topics on a two-year cycle to prepare each resident to become an independent practitioner of obstetrics and gynecology. Each didactic lecture along with the CREOG educational objectives is maintained in a resident resource file in Blackboard and is available to all residents and faculty.

PGY1 Obstetrics

The Obstetric rotation is 6 weeks long with a wide variety of patients and procedures.  As an intern, this is likely the hardest rotation of the year. However, it is also one of the most rewarding. You learn so much so fast. You will learn about patient care as well as different procedures such as placing foley bulbs and Dilapan to start inductions. Also learning procedures such as vaginal deliveries, laceration repairs, bilateral tubal ligations, and cesarean sections. You finish the rotation surprised at how much you have progressed. We benefit from a close relationship with the midwife team, as well as the pediatrics and anesthesia teams. MFM fellows are also present on labor and delivery and are all excellent teachers.

PGY2 Gynecology

GYN is an excellent rotation, providing a wonderful mixed team dynamic and the opportunity to evaluate many diverse gynecological complications. As a second-year, the rotation becomes far more interesting as you assume more of a leadership position, as the upper levels are frequently unavailable to manage the day to day patient concerns. I did my first hysterectomy as a second-year GYN resident - abdominal and laparoscopic. The learning curve is steep, as always in residency, but it is cool to look back and see how much improvement in clinical and surgical skills you've made!

PGY2 Texas Department of Correction (TDC)

UTMB has the privilege of working with the Texas Department of Corrections. This patient population is wonderful to work with and provides the residents with great educational experiences. We have the chance to greatly improve overall examination skills in the weekly TDC clinics where the large patient volume provides ample opportunity to refine important skills such as colposcopy and preforming LEEPs. As well as exposure to unique pathology encountered during surgeries.

PGY3 The University of Texas - M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

The MD Anderson rotation is a 6-week rotation in Houston, you will live in an apartment in Houston. You will be part of one of Gyn Oncology teams and get to take care of many patients with a wide variety of gynecologic cancers. MD Anderson is one of the top cancer hospitals in the world and as a result has patients from all over the country and world that come there to get care. You get the opportunity to take care of patients in the clinic and in the hospital and learn from world-renowned Gyn Oncologists. You will participate in extremely interesting surgeries including radical hysterectomies, large staging, and debulking procedures, and many other procedures. The MD Anderson rotation is a huge asset to the residency training program and we are grateful for the learning experience.

Getting to work with Houston Fertility Institution (HFI) with Dr. Witz adds a great educational experience to our residency program. The clinical exposure to infertility as well as other endocrinologic disorders is interesting as well as beneficial for understanding topics tested on CREOGs. The institution also provides exposure to different procedures such as egg retrievals you otherwise may not experience at other programs. This rotation lets the residents hone in on their operative hysteroscopy skills.

PGY3 REI

Getting to work with Houston Fertility Institution (HFI) with Dr. Witz adds a great educational experience to our residency program. The clinical exposure to infertility as well as other endocrinologic disorders is interesting as well as beneficial for understanding topics tested on CREOGs. The institution also provides exposure to different procedures such as egg retrievals you otherwise may not experience at other programs. This rotation lets the residents hone in on their operative hysteroscopy skills.