Career Exploration—Community-Based OB/GYN

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

  • Course Information

    Course Number: ROBG601

    Prerequisites: Completion of the Phase 2 OB/GYN clerkship

    Length of Time: 2 weeks

    Phase Availability: Phase 2 students RMED only. Phase 3 RMED preference. Registration with course director approval. Preference is given to RMED students; but if available, any interested student may enroll. Students are encouraged by the participating hospitals and clinics to consider completing 2 consecutive 2-week rotations in the same community to provide for easier access to housing and more exposure to the host location.

    Credit Type: Patient-facing or open

    Call: At the discretion of the local preceptor and depending on local community needs some night duty may be assigned. If required, night call will not exceed 1 night in every 4. The UIC policy on duty hours will apply in this situation (appendix “UI duty hour rules out of town students”)

  • Contact Information

    Program Director: Alexander Hyrnewych, MD; Kristen Green, MD

    Coordinators/Scheduling: Jessica McGuire (jam226@uic.edu); Allison King (aking75@uic.edu)

    Location: Jacksonville Memorial Hospital (1600 W. Walnut St., Jacksonville, IL 62650); Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital (200 Stahlhut Dr., Lincoln, IL 62656)

Narrative Description: A 2-week rotation to allow a student to have an extended experience providing ambulatory and hospital care in a more rural setting with somewhat fewer resources than the medical center where their prerequisite clerkship was completed. While chiefly an office-based ambulatory experience, occasionally preceptors may allow students to participate in care in the local hospital while under direct supervision. At no time will the student provide any patient care or entries to the medical record without their preceptor being directly present.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Describe/discuss issues facing practitioners caring for individuals, families and communities distant from a comprehensive medical center.
  2. Be able to evaluate patients and contribute to treatment planning for patients and families in small communities.
  3.  Describe common women’s health problems in rural areas.
  4.  Be able to demonstrate proficiency in clinical/procedural skills for treatment and management.
  5.  Describe strategies for health promotion and illness prevention
  6. Identify available resources in the host community.
  7. Be able to determine when local treatment is appropriate, when to involve visiting subspecialties, and when to refer patients to higher levels of care. Explain why these decisions are appropriate.
  8. Describe differences in the management approach for practitioners in community-based practices relative to a medical center location for the following women’s health issues:
    • Infertility
    • High Risk Pregnancy
    • Preeclampsia/Eclampsia
    • Premature Delivery
    • Postpartum Depression
    • Gynecologic Oncology

Learning Activities:

  1. The student will keep a journal, summarizing their daily activities, level of participation (observed, partial or full) and their personal observations & thoughts about the experience. (see appendix “Community Electives Log Procedures”)
  2. Student will perform medical histories and physical exams as assigned by their preceptor, present their findings orally, and develop differential diagnoses and treatment plans appropriate to their experience level
  3. The student will spend time with the office manager, nursing, and support staff, becoming familiar with their responsibilities.
  4. Student will obtain feedback from their preceptor using the Direct Observation Form as in regular required clerkships – one at the beginning of the clerkship and again at the end. Completion of this feedback and submission of the Direct Observation Form is required but the comments are formative only and will not be used for evaluation purposes.
  5. In order to help with advising and scheduling of future students, each student must complete a narrative summary of their experience in each 2-week rotation and submit this to the Phase 2/3 Director in Rockford at the end of their rotation. Grades will not be posted until this is completed.

Method of Assessment:

  1. The existing Elective Evaluation form will be used to provide feedback to the student about their performance. Grading method will be consistent with College policy.
  2. Student’s journal will be reviewed by supervising provider in the community for accuracy and completeness. (see appendix “Community Electives Log Procedures”)
  3. Completion of the Direct Observation Form will be documented.

Required Reading: None required by the campus – readings as assigned by local preceptors. Students are expected to take advantage of the Medical Mobile Resources available from the UIC library (appendix “EBM- Medicine Mobile Resources for out of city students”). Given the variety of these resources at the students’ disposal, note that use of UpToDate as the only clinical resource is not acceptable.

Additional Resources: As determined by the local preceptor.

Miscellaneous Information: None