Curriculum

Curriculum
Our program is dedicated to resident education and developing physicians prepared to practice in any environment. Residents receive a comprehensive education in the specialty and its subspecialties through rotations at RUSH University Medical Center as well as urban and suburban training sites.

PGY-1 is primarily focused on learning low-risk obstetrics, gynecology, the inpatient management of gynecology and gynecologic oncology, and ambulatory medicine. Second year residents gain exposure to more complex care, including rotations through all the subspecialties. More complex gynecologic care and increasing responsibilities, including a GYN nights rotation, occur during PGY-3 along with the opportunity for a self-selected elective experience. Fourth year residents are the chief residents on rotations, leading their teams and acting as surgical teaching assistants.

Residents gain the breadth and depth of outpatient OBGYN through various outpatient clinics. Resident Continuity Clinic is scheduled concurrently with select rotations for each PGY and residents care for OB and GYN patients with colposcopy and MIGS clinics enhancing this clinic experience. Breast Clinic and Pelvic Floor Clinic provide non-OBGYN specific training.

PGY-1
Clinic - 8 Weeks
Family Planning + Advocacy - 4 Weeks
Gynecologic Oncology - 8 Weeks
Gynecology - 8 Weeks
Obstetrics - 8 Weeks
Obstetrics - Night Float - 8 Weeks
Ultrasound - 4 Weeks

PGY-2
Family Planning + Research - 8 Weeks
Gynecologic Oncology - 8 Weeks
Gynecology - 8 Weeks
Obstetrics - 8 Weeks
Obstetrics - Maternal-Fetal Medicine - 4 Weeks
Obstetrics - Night Float - 8 Weeks
Urogynecology - 4 Weeks

PGY-3
Elective - 4 Weeks
Gynecologic Oncology - 8 Weeks
Gynecology - 12 Weeks
Gynecology - Night Float - 8 Weeks
Obstetrics - Maternal-Fetal Medicine - 8 Weeks
Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility - 8 Weeks

PGY-4
Gynecologic Oncology - 8 Weeks
Gynecology - 12 Weeks
Gynecology - Ambulatory - 4 Weeks
Obstetrics - 8 Weeks
Obstetrics - Night Float - 8 Weeks
Urogynecology - 8 Weeks

Advocacy
RUSH attracts residents and faculty committed to our local community and the key issues facing the field of OBGYN. Residents often come with extensive advocacy experience and want to continue this work during their residency; many residents are involved in local, regional, or national organizations to advocate for improvements in health care, support of patients, and the betterment of the specialty. We have active ACOG and AMA representatives, regularly send residents to Lobby Days, participate in RUSH-led and supported projects (West Side Walk for Wellness, Chicago Pride Parade, etc.) and other advocacy initiatives. A new advocacy curriculum was developed in conjunction with the first year Family Planning rotation for residents to explore the role of physician-advocates.

Didactics and Simulation
Residents have weekly protected educational time for didactic and simulation programs. These sessions review the breadth of OBGYN but also incorporate sessions on diversity, equity, and inclusion, patient safety, resident well-being, life skills, debriefs and support services, case reviews, and OB and GYN simulation.

Senior residents coordinate the education for their team in conjunction with the faculty rotation director. Educational time occurs on each rotation to review key topics on the foundation of that specialty; examples include weekly Family Planning Journal Club, OB Board Rounds teaching, GYN case conference, GYN ONC article reviews and tumor board.

Medical Educators
We expect residents to take an active role in teaching junior residents, medical students, and other health professional students who rotate with them. All housestaff annually participate in an institutionally developed Residents as Teachers curriculum.

The Academy of Resident Educators is a program we developed for our housestaff interested in gaining additional expertise in medical education. Residents who opt-in explore specific topics in medical education, participate in extended direct teaching with students or residents, and either complete their research or QI project on a topic related to medical education. Residents who complete the program receive a special designation at graduation.

Scholarly Activity
Research and Critical Appraisal of Literature
All residents participate in developing and implementing a research project and this culminates in a presentation at our program’s annual Resident Research Day. Most residents present at regional and/or national meetings and many have publications from their own resident research project.

A research curriculum is led by department faculty to guide the development of a research question, write a protocol, and implement that study. Statistical support is available along with support from department research coordinators.

All residents additionally participate in Journal Club sessions to critically review new and significant literature. The goal is to understand the most current data, critique the methodology, and determine if practice change should be made.

Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
All residents take an active role participating in M+M, OB and GYN quality meetings, and perinatal safety meetings. Individual completion of a quality improvement project is a training requirement as this provides an opportunity to look at a challenge and work to change something within the hospital system; residents implement changes that assist in patient care for inpatient or outpatient issues, develop tools to assist in workflows, or even respond to well-being needs of residents through their projects.