Medical student education continues to flourish within the department. With our clerkship director at the helm of the third-year student program, innovation has become the standard. Students spend 3 weeks on obstetric teams, learning from faculty and residents. During the clerkship's second half, students work in 2-day blocks at five different gynecologic venues. This unique scheme offers students a broad experience in the fundamentals of Gynecology. Reflecting the department emphasis on student education, 2 faculty members, dedicated solely to medical student teaching, serve as additional clinical instructors at these sites.
Students spend special sessions in the Southwestern Center of Minimally Invasive Surgery (SCMIS) and in the Intermediate Care Center (ICC). SCMIS, a simulation laboratory for laparoscopic surgery offers students a "hands-on" introduction to the techniques and uses of minimally invasive surgery. In the ICC students follow residents and faculty in the care of pregnant and gynecologic patients with urgent care problems. The minor surgical suites and sonography suite of the ICC allow students to observe the tools and techniques needed to provide women's health care in an emergency setting.
In addition to the clerkship's clinical strength, a daily didactic lecture series addresses APGO learning objectives, offering basic knowledge along with clinical correlations. Students have the option to attend these lectures or access lecture content in a web-based form. Each student receives enduring materials in the form of a CD-ROM containing pelvic anatomy diagrams, case-study exercises, ultrasonographic images, didactic lecture summaries, and real-time videos of common gynecologic surgeries.
Students are tested using a standardized national board examination and a clinical skills examination (OSCE). Their knowledge base, clinical use of basic science fundamentals, and attainment of clinical skills are assessed with these tools.
Increased autonomy and subspecialty learning await fourth- year medical students in the various clinical electives. Students from UT Southwestern and other schools nation-wide can select from month-long electives in Gynecologic Oncology, Urogynecology, Ambulatory Gynecology, Obstetrics, High-Risk Obstetrics, and Prenatal Diagnosis and Genetics. In 2002, one quarter of seniors chose to particate in our Ambulatory Gynecology course.
Medical students with a special interest in Obstetrics and Gynecology are mentored in our Women's Health Interest Group (WHIG). Available to students from their freshman through senior year, WHIG provides a means to learn more about women's health and to increase awareness of careers in the field. A variety of topics are presented in quarterly lectures, each capped off with lively question and answer sessions, a high-lighted feature of these meetings.
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