Greetings from the Chair

Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center's Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program is based in the John M. Gibbons Jr., M.D. Women's Health Pavilion on the Saint Francis Hospital and Medical center campus. All inpatient obstetrics, as well as antepartum testing, is housed in this unit on the fourth floor of the pavilion. Ambulatory obstetrics and gynecology is located across the street from the hospital.

Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center maintains a close affiliation with the University of Connecticut Health Center for both undergraduate and graduate medical education. The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Saint Francis currently has 14 full-time faculty members and 47 voluntary faculty physicians who are actively engaged in our training program.

The main objective of our comprehensive training program is to produce competent physicians who are prepared to be specialists in obstetrics and gynecology, and to achieve certification by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

To attain this goal we utilize the educational goals and objectives established by the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG). The 2 year curriculum is overseen by the director of resident education. Our fully accredited program utilizes a variety of teaching methods including hands-on experience on the wards, laparoscopic surgical simulation, teaching rounds, multiple didactic lecture series, obstetrics simulators, robotic surgery, morbidity and mortality conference, grand rounds and journal club.

Residents are evaluated utilizing the six core competences as required by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education. A sample of the evaluations utilized are the CREOG in-service training examination, evaluations by the staff, clinic and hospital personnel, as well as evaluations by the Ob/Gyn clinical and full-time faculty. The program director provides formal evaluations at least semi-annually to assure that the resident attains his/her goals.

One of the strengths of the program is the number of clinical experiences and cases in which residents may participate. There is significant breadth and depth of clinical experiences to provide the resident with outstanding training in the field. The program is extremely fortunate to have outstanding teachers representing in the subspecialties of obstetrics and gynecology. We currently have 3 gynecologic oncologists, 3 maternal fetal medicine specialists and 1 urogynecologist. Residents rotate to the University of Connecticut for the reproductive endocrinology, infertility experience. All residents obtain one on one experience in all of these subspecialties. Throughout the residency program residents are assigned to continuity clinics in which they manage a panel of their own patients. OB/GYN Ultrasonography, a unique area of expertise in obstetrics and gynecology, performs some 9,000 procedures per year.

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center is committed to excellence in family centered care in an environment of education and clinical research. Our primary educational goal is to educate rather than train resident physicians to be clinically excellent, competent, caring, and professional women's healthcare physicians. Both the faculty and hospital are dedicated to this mission.

I hope this website will be helpful in explaining our program and introducing you to St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center.

I look forward to receiving your ERAS application!

Sincerely,
Howard A. Shaw, M.D.
Chairman, Program Director

Copyright © 1996-2006 Saint Francis Department of OB/GYN