he Obstetrics and Gynecology Education Fund provides our GW Ob/Gyn residents with enhanced educational opportunities. The fund enables our residents to travel to underserved countries to expand their knowledge of surgical techniques and cultural competency, underwrites the cost for residents to attend American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) conferences, and supports resident research.
I am proud to share with you, our alumni and friends, the following educational experiences in research, patient care, advocacy, and global health that are a direct result of your generosity. Thank you for supporting the next generation of Ob/Gyn physicians.
- Nancy D. Gaba, MD ’93, RESD ’97, FACOG
Oscar I. and Mildred S. Dodek and
Joan B. and Oscar I. Dodek, Jr. Professor and Chair
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Project Medishare for Haiti
Amelie Pham, MD, RESD’20
I have a new appreciation for primary care and the importance of access to basic health care. This truly humbling experience has prepared me to better serve my patients.
Traveling abroad and seeing how medicine is practiced outside the United States, especially in areas that are resource-limited are essential to the growth and development of our Ob/Gyn residents. Because of the Ob/Gyn Education Fund, Dr. Amelie Pham was offered the opportunity to travel to Haiti to deliver care to patients who had never seen a medical doctor before in their life. Traveling to rural and remote parts of the country, Dr. Pham was the primary provider for her patients. With no labs available and resources being limited, she had to rely on her clinical skills and training. This experience, she says, was invaluable.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting
Prachi Godiwala, MD, RESD’19
Participating in the conference sparked new ideas that I hope to implement within our program.
Attendance and participation at ACOG’s annual meeting offers our residents the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge research and be at the frontier of implementing changes in practice. Throughout the conference, they are introduced to clinicians and issues they may not necessarily get exposure to during residency.
Out of Hospital (OOH) Roundtable Series
Anita Mikkilineni, MD, RESD’20
This experience has greatly opened our eyes to the many facets of out of hospital births. We have seen the spectrum of care offered outside of hospitals and the vetting process for candidates for OOH births. We have learned about the diverse reasons patients desire OOH births and have seen how important patient autonomy is to women and how far they are willing to go to seek it. We are learning about how other states are handling mandatory licensure, peer review, statewide policy change and seeing how this can benefit patients in Washington, DC.
Anita Mikkilineni, MD, a third year resident credits wanting to be an Ob/Gyn after encountering the many obstacles women face in the U.S. health care system. She found a passion for women’s health advocacy and wanted to help women make informed decisions about their care. After seeing a need for improved care for patients who chose out of hospital births, Dr. Mikkilineni began the Out of Hospital (OOH) Roundtable Series. The roundtables discuss how to best take care of patients in the DMV area by establishing a patient safety transfer protocol, developing professional relationships with all providers to foster safe practice guidelines, respecting patient autonomy and improving maternal-fetal outcomes.
The Lancet Handbook of Essential Concepts in Clinical Research
Lauren Nelson, MD, Assistant Director Ob/Gyn Residency Program
At GW, we aim to produce residents that use scholarly activity in the pursuit of lifelong learning and contribute to the field through research. To achieve this aim, we have worked to develop a four-part research curriculum that takes residents through the many aspects of research. The Lancet Handbook of Essential Concepts in Clinical Research is the cornerstone text of our research curriculum. Because of the Ob/Gyn Resident Education Fund, we were able to purchase this essential resource, which allows us to teach this curriculum annually.
Peru Surgical Trip with Dr. Andrew Goldstein
Prachi Godiwala, MD, RESD’19
The majority of cases that we diagnosed by our colposcopic impression were confirmed on pathology. This can be applied to patients abroad as well as underserved patients domestically who have minimal access to care. It is clear to me that international service trips can do more than primary care - they can change a patient’s life.
The Peru Surgical Trip provided cervical cancer screening through a see-and-treat mobile colposcopy and cryotherapy/LEEP program. Women were screened for cervical cancer using visual inspection with acetic acid (VIAA). Those who screened positive had biopsies collected, which were later analyzed by pathology, and were treated with either cryotherapy or a LEEP procedure. During the trip, several cases of cervical precancer were identified, as well as three cases of cervical cancer and those patients were referred to a gynecologist in Peru.
Dr. Godiwala says the experience showed her that physical exam skills can be just as important and nearly as accurate as using pathology to diagnose precancer.
Congressional Leadership Conference
Catherine Hennessey, MD, RESD’21
To be surrounded by more than 600 people passionately advocating for women’s health was empowering. As a physician, I learned that I have a unique perspective that people on Capitol Hill need to hear. I was motivated to continue to take part in patient advocacy and know that no matter where I practice, I will always listen to my patients and be able to bring their stories to the attention of those making policy decisions.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Congressional Leadership Conference (CLC) is a 3-day conference held each year in Washington, DC. Ob/Gyns from across the country come to Capitol Hill to lobby on behalf of their patients. For the first two days of the conference, Ob/Gyn physicians and residents hear from members of congress and advocates for women’s health, which offers our residents the opportunity to hone their advocacy and lobbying skills. On the final day more than 700 physicians lobbied for the enactment of Maternal Mortality Review Committees and support for Medicaid. This year, thanks to the Ob/Gyn Education Fund, GW was able to send three residents to the conference.
To support the Ob/Gyn Education Fund, please go to Go.gwu.edu/LarsenObGyn, or contact the Development office at 202-994-7511 or smhsalumni@gwu.edu.