Educational programs in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology have thrived because of the strong commitment of the faculty, and the increasing talents and enthusiasm of the trainees. The undergraduate program has consistently ranked in the top cadre of Canadian schools for performance on the national LMCC examinations.
Undergraduate program
The pre-clinical program, now offered in the second year of the undergraduate curriculum, occurs on the university campus. The clinical clerkship occurs during the third year of the curriculum. It is offered at the Royal Alexandra, Misericordia and Grey Nuns sites. This program was very effectively directed by Dr. Cathy Flood in the early 1990s, and subsequently by Dr. Peggy Sagle.
The pre-clinical teaching program has undergone dramatic changes in the past decade. The program was directed by Dr. Don Dunlop through the 1980s and was taken over by Dr. Valerie Capstick in the early 1990s. Dr. Capstick was responsible for returning the small-group tutorial sessions to the undergraduate curriculum.
In the mid and late 1990s, the medical school was in the process of completely changing the undergraduate curriculum to encompass the “problem-based learning” revolution. Through Dr. Capstick’s courage, tenacity and hard work, and with the co-operation of the faculty, our department was a leader in this difficult process.
Encouragingly, now a large segment of the graduating class (usually around 10 per cent) chooses obstetrics & gynecology as a possible career option. This ranks the department among the best in North America in this regard.
Residency program
The residency program has continued to gain strength. The department has a well-earned national reputation as providing outstanding clinical training with a strong emphasis on surgical skills. Over the past 15 years, the residency program directors (Dr. Alex Schepansky, Dr. Radha Chari and Dr. Cathy Flood) have raised the bar of expectations for the resident staff, and the residents have more than met these.
With increasingly talented applicants, the program has expanded to the present complement of 21 over the five-year program. Increasing emphasis on formal educational goals and evaluation procedures has increased the value of the program. There has been an increasing emphasis on research activity by the residents.
The residency program has repeatedly obtained full approval from the Accreditation Committee of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada for more than 20 years. Our residency graduates have been very successful in achieving highly competitive positions in sub-specialty programs in Canada, the United States, England and Australia, as well as in general obstetrics & gynecology positions in private practice.
By any measuring stick, our education programs have had many recent accomplishments. In the undergraduate program, our “block” was voted “Block of the Year” by the students in 2002. Dr. Peggy Sagle, our citywide clerkship co-ordinator for several years was made assistant dean for undergraduate education.
In the past 15 years, only one residency program graduate (who had extenuating circumstances) has failed to pass the certification examinations of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada on the first attempt.
Several faculty members have been rewarded with “Teacher of the Year” plaques – many on a repeated basis. Some of our residents also have won “Mentor of the Year” awards from the students.
Our GFT and clinical faculty members look forward to even more innovation and improvements in all levels of our education programs in the years to come.