For additional training in high-risk obstetrics and advanced surgical skills, Beacon’s obstetrics fellowship is offered to trainees who desire to work in rural and underserved areas.
Our residency program has a long tradition of offering an excellent obstetrics experience within the framework of our traditional residency curriculum. The purpose of the OB fellowship is to train Family Physicians in surgical skills, including:
- cesarean sections,
- operative vaginal deliveries,
- tubal ligations, vasectomies, and
- the breadth of outpatient gynecologic procedures.
When to apply
Fellowship application is open annually from May 1 – August 31.
The number of fellows we accept is 2.
Overview of training
The training philosophy of the fellowship mirrors that of the residency program by training full-spectrum family medicine residents and obstetric fellows. Details are as follow:
- Two inpatient fellows: C/S fellow and rounding fellow, chief of the OB service under laborists
- Rounding on high-risk antepartum patients (SCO)
- Outpatient continuity clinic with focus on high-risk obstetrics
- Outpatient procedure clinic
- Attending on Staff Medicine
- Population/Community Medicine project and HROB
- Obstetrical ultrasound: required areas are Dating US, biometry, AFI, BPP, level 1 Anatomic Surveys (optional)
- Newborn nursery
- OB Fellow Block Schedule Templates
Other aspects of fellowship
- Junior faculty role: Staff outpatient medicine clinic, staff inpatient adult medicine, round on MBU, supervise circumcisions, OB floor small group education; ALSO instructor for incoming interns; Supervise outpatient procedure clinic, HROB, Noon conference didactics
- Optional two-week international rotation in Kenya (requires approval of the fellowship co-directors and residency program director)
- Longitudinal didactics through Canvas platform
Requirements for graduation
Procedures:
- Required:
- 150 Primary Cesarean Deliveries (primary defined as >50% of the procedure performed) or demonstration of procedural proficiency as determined by the fellowship directors
- 35 Transabdominal OB Ultrasounds (1st trimester dating, Fetal Biometry, AFIs, and BPPs) or demonstration of proficiency as determined by the fellowship directors.
- A combined minimum of 80 vaginal deliveries completed during their residency and fellowship years of training.
- Recommended:
- 15 Transvaginal ultrasounds (First Trimester Dating, Cervical lengths, assessment of viability)
- 15 Tubal Ligations– Fellows may opt out of sterilization procedures according to their personal ethical principles per the residency policy.
- D&Cs for retained products and early miscarriages
- Optional Procedures:
- Colposcopies
- LEEPs
- Circumcisions
- Vasectomies
- Long-acting reversible contraception
Scholarly Activity:
- Longitudinal OB Fellowship Project: Complete a community project or research project and present it at the residency noon conference at the end of the fellowship year. Fellows may choose to do a combined project that they co-manage and co-present or separate projects.
- HROB Case Conference: OB Fellows will give short presentations on high-risk obstetrics topics at the beginning of their assigned HROB case conferences (approximately 5-6 per year).
- Interdisciplinary Case Conference: Fellows will present cases for review at the semimonthly OB department interdisciplinary case conference (approximately 2-3 times per year).
Assessment of Proficiency:
- A final summative assessment of proficiency is obtained through consensus agreement between the Residency Program Director, OB Fellowship co-directors, and the OB Fellowship Surgical Director.
- The final assessment is based on the total body of a fellow’s work including, but not limited to, case evaluations, chart reviews, procedures logs, quarterly reviews, and compiled feedback from surgical proctors.
Fellowship design
Memorial’s obstetrics experience is multifaceted, including a strong continuity clinic experience and inpatient obstetrics rotations. We have a strong support staff for our continuity patients including Obstetric Nurse Coordinators and prenatal class educators. Obstetrical ultrasound and non-stress testing are all offered onsite at the E. Blair Warner Family Medicine Center. Four of our family medicine faculty incorporate maternity care into their practices. A group of community obstetricians precept regularly in the clinic and supervise deliveries.
Memorial Hospital of South Bend offers a family medicine-friendly training environment with state-of-the-art inpatient obstetrics care, with a separate high-risk antenatal unit, a childbirth unit consisting of spacious labor and delivery suites, centralized electronic fetal monitoring and two mother-baby units for postpartum care, which support breastfeeding. We are a certified baby-friendly hospital.
The obstetrics fellowship includes:
The obstetrics fellowship is offered with the support of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Memorial Hospital. Training is co-directed by Tucker Balam, D.O., and Emily-Rae Singh, M.D., M.Ed. Inpatient education occurs under the direct supervision of Memorial OB hospitalists.
External candidates are strongly encouraged to arrange an obstetrics rotation at Memorial by November of their third year of residency.
Compensation and benefits*
Compensation and benefits for fellows are reviewed annually and subject to change including change in pay after board certification & Medicare credentialing.
Get to know us
Current fellows:
Leah Hansel
