Residents in the IU School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology experience a diverse curriculum in both small group lecture and clinical settings. This program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) without warning or probation.
Sample Rotation Schedule
Interns | Second Year | Third Year | Chief Year |
Eskenazi OB | Eskenazi OB | UROGYN | Eskenazi GYN 1 |
Eskenazi Night Float | Eskenazi GYN | Elective | Eskenazi GYN 2 |
Eskenazi GYN | Family Planning | IUHP OB | Eskenazi Night Float |
HR Night Float | HN OB | Eskenazi GYN | Elective |
AMB OB | IUHP Night Float | HN OB-GYN | REI |
Oncology | IUHP OB | HN Night Float | ME GYN |
Methodist GYN | IU GYN | Oncology | Oncology |
HN OB | Oncology | JEOPARDY | IU GYN |
AMB GYN | Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility | Eskenazi OB | Eskenazi OB |
Emergency Medicine/SICU | Eskenazi Night Float | Eskenazi triage | Prenatal Diagnosis |
The resident rotation schedule for each academic year is determined by the natural development that an OB-GYN resident undergoes during their time in residency. The milestones provided for OB-GYN by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) are used for the appropriate timing of each rotation in the growth and development of a typical OB-GYN resident. Highlights of the curriculum include one-month electives in years three and four. Past residents have used this time as an opportunity to augment their surgical skills, obtain additional research experience and participate in global health opportunities.
Clinical Training Facilities
IU Health Academic Health Center (AHC) includes both IU Health University Hospital and IU Health Methodist Hospital. Both hospitals are in downtown Indianapolis near the IU School of Medicine Indianapolis campus. The Academic Health Center includes a large obstetric unit that cares for both high-risk and normal-risk obstetric patients. The unit has a high-risk service that receives patients referred from throughout the state of Indiana. Additionally, the Health Net obstetric service is cared for by OB-GYN residents along with a team of nurse midwives and physicians from this Federally Qualified Health Clinic (FQHC) practice. Subspecialty services include gynecologic oncology, minimally invasive surgery, perinatology and reproductive endocrinology and infertility.
At Eskenazi Health (formerly known as Wishard Memorial Hospital), an acute care facility operated by Marion County Health and Hospital Corporation, there is a large population of general obstetrics and gynecology patients that are considered high-risk patients based on their prior access to care and underserved status. Eskenazi Health’s Outpatient Care Center is an outpatient facility associated with the hospital. The resident continuity clinics are housed at these sites and allow residents access to a large, urban, underserved population.
Conferences/Didactics
Residents in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology participate in a robust didactic curriculum that provides a comprehensive educational experience. Protected education time occurs weekly from 8:30 am – 12:00 pm and follows the educational objectives provided by the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Lectures are recorded on video to provide additional learning opportunities. Monthly surgical and technical simulations help reinforce concepts taught throughout training. Residents are also involved in medical student education in both small group and clinical settings.
Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery
Residents participate in a formal fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery curriculum led by the department’s minimally-invasive gynecologic surgery faculty. The goal is to complete the curriculum by the second year of residency. The exam fee is covered by the department.
Ryan Program Training Site
The IU School of Medicine OB-GYN residency program is a designated Ryan Program Training Site. The Ryan Program, founded in 1999, is a national initiative based at the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health at the University of California-San Francisco. The mission of this national program is to integrate and enhance family planning training for obstetrics and gynecology residents in the United States and Canada.
Family planning and contraception are fundamental to women’s health and training is incorporated throughout the four-year residency program. Residents receive training in long acting reversible contraception (LARC) and participate in a values-clarification exercise that allows them to fully explore their personal role in the family planning experience. During the second-year family planning rotation, OB-GYN residents are exposed to adolescent medicine clinics and Planned Parenthood. At Planned Parenthood, residents get experience in colposcopy, LEEP, complicated IUD placement and removal and contraceptive implant and removal. There is an opt-out policy so residents do not have to participate in procedures that conflict with their personal beliefs.
Advocacy Curriculum
Residents participate in an advocacy curriculum led by assistant residency program director Katherine McHugh, MD. The curriculum includes sessions throughout the year culminating in an annual state lobby day at the Indiana State Capitol. Each year the department and local American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) chapter sponsor resident attendees to ACOG's Congressional Leadership Conference (CLC).
Global Health
Indiana University School of Medicine is the founding U.S. partner and leader of the Academic Model Providing Access to Health Care (AMPATH), a large-scale, community-based program that is dramatically improving health in western Kenya through research, training and health services. OB-GYN residents at IU School of Medicine are invited to apply for the IU Interdepartmental Global Health Medical Residency Training Track during their intern year.
Retreats and Activities
Each year, OB-GYN residents participate in several events that are designed to provide additional time and space for growth as a cohesive unit.