Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency

Residents have an average of three OB rotations per year. The focus of the PGY1 year is establishing sound obstetrical skills in normal vaginal deliveries, management of normal labor and post-partum care, and basic ultrasonography. The PGY2 resident experience is focused on developing obstetrical technical skills (C-sections, operative vaginal delivery, complex laceration repairs) and management of abnormal labor and complex intrapartum care of higher risk pregnancies. 

The PGY3 resident is focused on learning management of high risk pregnancies on the antepartum service, an experience that is closely aligned with the faculty in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, rounding with the MFM attendings and managing very complex pregnancies. PGY4s spend their time on Obstetrics in a leadership role – overseeing the entire unit, working with multiple faculty leads, nursing leadership, and teaching/supervising junior residents as well as medical students.

Residents spend an average of 3 months per year learning various aspects of gynecology. Gynecologic oncology is the busiest surgical experience and has the highest acuity of the inpatient experience. There is a strong focus on minimally invasive surgery and all graduates for the last several years have been competent at performing robotic hysterectomies as well as total laparoscopic hysterectomies. The gynecologic oncologists also perform the bulk of all open abdominal surgery which remains a critical skill for PGY3 and PGY4 residents to develop. 

Residents also spend a total of 2+ months learning urogynecology, both routine and complex procedures, as well as experience in the outpatient setting. In addition to these two teams, there is a wide array of benign gynecologic pathology that is managed by the general OBGYNs in the faculty practices. This team manages and triages ED consultations, ectopic pregnancies, tubo-ovarian abscess, amongst many other conditions that are the essential backbone of a general gynecology surgical practice.

Our residents spend one day per week in the Resident Continuity Clinic throughout the entire four years of training. This results in an unusually strong continuity experience. There is a commitment of not only the Residency Program and the clinic, but also the entire Department, that residents are highly encouraged to attend to the care of their own clinic patients – attend surgeries they have worked up, ensure continuous follow up, and attend deliveries when possible. 

The patient population is varied, with refugee and immigrant women comprising ~45% of our patients (most commonly from Somalia, the Congo, Rwanda, and Vietnam and lately from the Middle East). Residents gain additional ambulatory/office practice experience in Family Planning and spend time at Planned Parenthood (residents with religious or moral objections may “opt out”). 

Additional ambulatory experience includes several months in two different Reproductive Endocrinology practices, one based in a medical background including transgender care, and another heavily focused on infertility and the full breadth of that experience. Additional ambulatory experiences include shorter exposures to Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, Vulvology/Infectious Disease, Addiction Medicine, Breast Health, and Genetics – both perinatal and cancer risk prevention.

PGY1s spend one month in the MHMMC emergency department. The PGY1 residents also spend one month in the Special Care Units (our local name for Intensive Care Units), learning how to take care of very sick patients in a multi-disciplinary setting, where they learn the latest in critical care of both the medical and the surgical patients which they are then able to apply as senior residents caring for critically ill obstetric and gynecology oncology patients. 

Third year residents enjoy one month of elective time to pursue interests and opportunities that we may be unable to offer locally – including additional exposures to subspecialty care for those interested in pursuing fellowships, international electives, research electives, or possible “job auditions” with local or non-local practices where they may be considering future employment.

The MHMMC OB/GYN Residency program believes that an inclusive and diverse work environment is an integral part of the foundation of a more equitable and just health field and society. In an effort to provide better care for our patient population that includes people who come from around the globe, identify across the gender and sexuality spectrum, and hail from any background and socioeconomic status, we seek to provide more education, programming, support, and conversation around the topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

DEI Strategic Aims

We strive to recruit and elevate residents who embody these diverse characteristics and grow with us to serve the patients of our state, country, and beyond. We also strive to create an environment of belonging. We also aim to create an environment of belonging. In 2020, two of our residents created and spearheaded a task force to address DEI/B issues within the program. Through this task force and work within the department, we have strengthened relationships with the greater Portland community, established connections with URM student groups, and updated some of our recruitment and application cycle processes to be more equitable and inclusive. Examples of our recent work includes:

• An anti-racism reading group to facilitate intentional discussion among residents and faculty
• Skills building in trauma-informed care
• Didactic sessions to amplify the voices of our local community members, including immigrants and asylees, LGBTQI+, homeless and marginalized populations
• Commitment to recruitment and retention of diverse medical students, applicants, and residents

Visiting Student Diversity Scholarship Program

The Department of Medical Education developed the Diversity Scholarship Award Program to help advance MaineHealth’s mission to actively pursue, and welcome a wide range of perspectives and backgrounds. We believe with this program, we will improve the academic environment, drive innovation, and attract leadership – ultimately, enhancing our ability to train future medical providers to provide high quality, socially responsible, and equitable care to all patients and their families.

MHMMC’s Department of Medical Education offers eight $500 scholarship awards per academic year for those applying to advanced electives with identities and backgrounds that are considered underrepresented in medicine. The AAMC has previously defined underrepresented in medicine as "those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population." The Department of Medical Education endeavors for this to be an inclusive definition that is open to individual interpretation. Other examples may include physically disabled, economically disadvantaged, or LGBTQ+ students.

This scholarship award may be applied towards travel, housing, and incidental expenses related to a month long visiting rotation.

View the program overview to find out if you are eligible and to learn more about the application process.

If you have any questions, please contact the Department of Medical Education at 207-662-7060 or UME_MedEd@mmc.org.