Our residency program, historically one of the largest in the country, continues to train young physicians in the fundamentals of obstetrics and gynecology.  Nationally, 1 in 40 obstetrician/gynecologists can trace his or her  medical "roots" to our department.  Currently the program is approved to accept 16 new residents annually.  The selection process this year began with an applicant pool of approximately 400.   Winnowed down to 130 interview candidates, this pool yielded 16 exceptional physicians reflecting diversity in both gender and culture.     

        Residents in our program benefit from the nation's largest university obstetrical and gynecologic care delivery system.  During their training these physicians have an opportunity to develop competency in treating common and rare health problems, disease entities at their mildest and at the extremes.  Gaining familiarity with this breadth and volume of pathology is one of the hallmarks of our program.   

     The department offers physicians unique venues for learning and training during their four years.   Residents learn basic and cutting-edge obstetric care in Parkland Hospital's 3 labor and delivery units.  In each unit, these obstetricians build an extensive skill set ranging from fundamental delivery skills to management expertise in high-risk pregnancies.   The Extended Care Unit (ECU), our department's intensive care obstetrical recovery room enables residents to follow patients with severe obstetrical complications from delivery through recovery and then to transition onto the postpartum ward. 

       
     Unique arenas for gynecologic learning also abound.  Our Intermediate Care Center (ICC), one of the few centers of its kind nationally, affords an environment to care for antenatal and gynecologic urgent care problems.  The ICC contains two minor surgery rooms and sonography suite, allowing residents to fully assess and in many cases to provide complete care for their patients.   The Southwestern Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery (SCMIS) laboratory presents a state-of-the-art simulation facility for surgeons to master the latest laparoscopic skills.  The fundamentals of surgery are reinforced in the department's pelvic anatomy laboratory.  Here residents dissect fresh, frozen, and preserved cadaveric pelvic specimens.


     Training independent obstetrician/gynecologists is an integral mission of the department.  Toward this end, clinical education occurs in the classroom as well as the clinic.   In addition to our traditional didactic lecture series, a new "online" classroom has been added to our teaching tools.   One example, a case-study web-based curriculum covering dysplasia and colposcopy, guides residents through this topic.  Monthly reading assignments and examinations are also administered and scored online.


     The Jack A. and Signe Pritchard Resident Learning Center is a multimedia center that provides residents a site for high tech learning.  The Center offers computers, traditional bound library texts, and a digital television with operating room connections.  This connection enables students to view surgeries "live", allowing distance learning and instruction.

     
     Faculty members place a priority on resident education.  Each night, residents have a total of four faculty members available in-house at either Parkland or St. Paul University Hospitals to supervise as teachers and consultants.  Several faculty members with a specific expertise in medical education have garnered APGO teaching grants to develop new curricula in the specific areas of pelvic anatomy and sexual dysfunction.    
 
                    

      Commitment to resident education extends also into the private sector.  Our program has created a collaborative relationship with 3 private hospitals outside the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center system.  At Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, Medical City Dallas Hospital, and Presbyterian Hospital of Plano, residents operate side-by-side experienced gynecologists in private practice, actively learning new surgical techniques and styles.