Fourth-Year Clinical Specialty Track

It is a big decision for the medical student to choose which specialty they want to practice in. During their third year at UNMC, they attend specialty-specific informational meetings and converse with the specialty track directors when trying to make this decision. The obstetrics and gynecology field is all about the health care of the female - delivering babies, providing health care for well and urgent visits, providing counseling on family planning, and performing routine and emergent surgery.

The final year of medical school is considered Phase 3 in the College of Medicine curriculum. Near the end of their third year in medical school, each student decides which medical specialty they want to enter upon graduation. Those students who choose obstetrics and gynecology complete OB-GYN elective courses that provide individualized training. In their fourth year, the students also apply to their desired residency programs and attend interviews.

Details for fourth-year medical student OB-GYN courses are in the College of Medicine catalog.  

Advanced Learning Opportunities

Residency Prep Course

The fourth-year medical students also participate in the Residency Preparatory Course at the end of their fourth year of medical school. They complete two weeks of sessions with the College of Medicine and then two weeks with the Dept. of OB-GYN, which consists of simulations and skills labs with department faculty. An example of sessions includes delivering bad news, perineal laceration repair, advanced suturing techniques, endometrial biopsy, intrauterine device insertion and removal, loop electrosurgical excision procedure, Bartholin cyst management, point of care ultrasound, and high-fidelity simulations for postpartum hemorrhage, operative vaginal delivery, shoulder dystocia and eclampsia.

Advanced Simulations

The fourth-year medical students may participate in the OB-GYN resident simulations, as well. Every July the department organizes a series of simulations and events that include the management of high-risk obstetric emergencies,  da Vinci robotic simulator hands-on practice, and we have five to six gynecological surgery equipment representatives bring their equipment to the Davis Global Center so the residents and fourth-year medical students can interact with the equipment and become familiar with how to use the devices.

We also have quarterly simulations that occur on a Wednesday afternoon during dedicated education time that the fourth-year medical students are invited to attend. The topics are chosen by the residency program directors from a list in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists education section and include high-fidelity simulations and hands-on sessions practicing surgical techniques.