Mission

The mission of the Naval Medical Center San Diego Obstetrics & Gynecology residency is to produce excellent comprehensive OBGYN physicians who are prepared for independent practice in the diverse clinical settings the Navy serves around the world. This mission aligns with the mission of NMCSD which is to prepare to deploy in support of operational commitments, deliver quality health services and shape the future of military medicine through education, training, and research.

Vision

Paramount to our mission is a vision to develop comprehensive obstetricians and gynecologists who are capable of functioning independently in operational environments overseas and often in remote locations with little or no subspecialty support. The program has been built upon this principle and intends to continue to effectively train residents for the role they will fulfill within the United States Navy as Medical Corps Officers.

Aims

Achieving the residency program’s mission and vision involves:

• Providing residents with comprehensive training in the full spectrum of comprehensive OBGYN to ensure graduates are capable clinicians and competent consultants who can attain Board certification.
• Ensuring our graduates possess the knowledge and experience to participate in and coordinate patient safety and quality improvement initiatives.
• Fostering development of medical teaching skills that enable graduates to become exceptional teachers and contribute to the future of medicine.
• Enabling residents to critically appraise the literature and design research projects.
• Supporting residents in finding an acceptable work-life balance and identifying appropriate avenues to promote wellness.

The program holds weekly academic conferences that include lectures by both faculty and residents, journal club, pre and post-operative discussions, mortality and morbidity (M&M) conference, as well as activities in our facility’s Bio-skills Training Laboratory and Simulation Center.

The resident rotation schedule is built in the spring prior to the start of the new academic year. Incoming residents are contacted prior the schedule’s construction to gather information from them about their specific interests and preferences so those may be considered during schedule assembly.

New PGY-1 residents spend their first block, typically most of July, on an orientation rotation during which they exposed to all major components of the program and have the opportunity to learn how the various services operate with each other and within the overall institution.

Electives are available during the 3rd and 4th years of training and may include Infertility, Gynecologic Oncology, Urogynecology, and Maternal Fetal Medicine.

Types of call vary, not only by nature of a particular rotation, but also by post graduate year. The most common overnight call is referred to as “Night Float”. When serving on-call as the Night Float, most of the time will be spend on the Labor and Delivery Deck. The program has ample call rooms which are a clean and safe environment to take a nap and have a snack or meal. There is always a faculty member on site on overnight call as well.

Some activities are unique to us as a military medical training program.  These activities include:

• Fitness Report writing and development.
• Introduction to the Global Teleportation System for Overseas Consults
• Miscarriage and Ectopic management in a limited resource setting
• Obstetrical care in a limited resource setting
• Officer career development

• OBGYN Residents are required to maintain certification in Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Life Support (ALS) or Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) throughout their residency training. 
• The Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery is a course that residents are required to pass prior to completing registration for the board exam at the end of residency.
• OBGYN Residents are required to complete the Combat Casualty Care Course (C4) in San Antonio, TX or Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) and Tactical Combat Care Course (TCCC) at NMCSD prior to graduation. 

The institution is equipped with a state-of-the-art Bio-Skills Training Center, which offers opportunities for robotic surgery simulation. Additionally, the OBGYN residency training program has its own specialty-specific robotics curriculum. Simulated activities include intrauterine device placement, fetal distress management, postpartum hemorrhage management, routine vaginal delivery skills and sterile cervical exams.

The program has an advocate program which serves as a platform for mentoring interns and residents into mature, capable and professional obstetrician/gynecologists. In addition, there is support for attending the annual Armed Forces Division conference and for participating as a Junior Fellow in the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The program has a research curriculum designed to facilitate research activity. In addition, the institution’s Clinical Investigation Department support resident research endeavors with qualified research coordinators who are familiar with matters pertaining to animal or human subject research and the internal review board submission process. There is a designated Research Director within the program to help learners navigate various aspects of project design and means to achieve presentation and/or publication.

The Program promotes and supports resident endeavors to continuously improve weekly academics through the appointment of an Academic Chief Resident. Residents participate in tracking and participating in various quality improvement initiatives not only pertinent to the program’s own clinical learning environment, but also the larger institution.

The program promotes participation in relevant committees and subcommittees throughout the institution that may enrich the overall professional development of all learners.

The NMCSD OBGYN Residency Program leverages relationships with other medical treatment facilities and organizations to augment and in some cases, supplement the overall residency training experience. Rotations with participating sites are typically during the third and fourth year of training but may also occur in the second. At this time, all of the sites are regional with the furthest located in the Riverside area.

Student rotations, or clerkships, are four weeks in length and generally broken into two-week blocks providing the opportunity to experience two subspecialties during the rotation period. Clerkships are available in: Comprehensive Obstetrics (includes Obstetrics/Maternal Fetal Medicine), Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Gynecologic Oncology, Urogynecology and Pelvic Floor Reconstruction, and Gynecologic surgery. Students will also receive exposure to simulation training and robotic surgery in addition to the opportunity to join other scheduled academic activities.

Please visit our Medical Student Rotation informational page to see a listing of available medical student rotations offered at NMCSD.

Requests to interview for a residency spot can be made via email to the OBGYN Program at: dha.san-diego.San-Diego-NMC.list.nmcsd-obgyn@health.mil. Please include a copy of your curriculum vitae (CV), a Personal Statement, and copies of completed examinations scores.

Interviews are normally conducted in-person when completing a clinical rotation within the OBGYN Department.  The applicant will have individual interviews with a current resident, a faculty member, and the Program Director (three separate interviews).

A program representative will reach out to you prior to your interview and answer any additional questions you may have.  

Notes:

• The Personal Statement should be no longer than one page – structurally consider it should have a beginning (where you came from or how you came to know the specialty), a middle (where you are now in your life’s journey/how your learning experience is going) and an end (why embarking on a career in the specialty is what you truly want to do).
• Your CV should include pertinent information such as your education and employment but may also include volunteerism and/or community service along with a few hobbies or favorite activities.
• Exam scores can be sent by email or even included on the CV; they will be verified once available in the application system (MODS). 

The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) sponsors the board certification examination for recent graduates. Residents may begin the registration process while in their fourth year of training. The certification process will include a written qualifying exam and an oral board referred to as the Specialty Certifying Exam. Registering for the qualifying exam is typically between January and February with the exam to be held in July. The Specialty Certifying Exam registration is typically between March and April with variable exam dates in the fall, usually in October, November and into December. It is important to note that one must first pass the Qualifying Exam before registering for the Certifying Exam, this means the certifying exam is usually taken the year following the qualifying exam. For more detailed information about board certification, visit the ABOG website.

Teaching is an important component of residency as it facilitates reinforcement and retention of medical knowledge and both clinical and procedural skills. As residents progress through the program, they will find themselves paired with junior residents whom they may teach and mentor under the supervision and guidance of faculty.

The program receives residents from other specialties at NMCSD with an OBGYN component and also receives both third and fourth-year medical students. Our residents have ample opportunity to teach and mentor these groups. Additionally, OBGYN residents have the opportunity to provide professional lectures to medical student and non-OBGYN PGY-1s on service during academic days.

In addition to board certified comprehensive obstetrician/gynecologists, the program has subspecialty certified faculty in areas such as Maternal Fetal Medicine, Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery, Gynecologic Oncology, and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.

OBGYN Residents have assigned faculty advocates with whom they have periodic meetings designed to check their progress, encourage their continued learning and growth, and provide an outlet for questions and concerns. Advocates may also be designated by the learner to present issues of importance to them to the Program Director should they feel uncomfortable doing so themselves.

The residency employs a well-being program designed to foster a healthy and safe learning environment. This includes designated well-being representatives from each year group as well as representation on the institution-wide wellbeing committee. There are also activities planned around well-being initiatives and may include games and friendly competitions, off-site meetings or gatherings and meditation.