Gynecology and Women’s Health

Our gynecology and women’s health rotation will give you excellent opportunities to acquire experience managing a broad range of gynecological diseases.

We aim to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of screening — as well as primary, secondary and tertiary prevention — of common diseases in women, with a special focus on:

• cervical and breast cancer screening
• immunizations
• sexually transmitted diseases
• diabetes mellitus
• coronary artery disease 
• hypertension
• hyperlipidemia

Rotating through an outpatient women’s health clinic enables you to gain experience with continuity of care.

We will train you to:

• take adequate menstrual and gynecological histories
• concentrate on post-menopausal symptoms
• perform thorough breast and pelvic exams
• perform Papanicolaou tests and be able to read a Papanicolaou smear report
• understand and prescribe contraception
• evaluate vaginal discharges and prepare wet slides
• treat and take cultures for sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea and chlamydia  
• understand hormone replacement therapy and its pros and cons
• identify different incontinence problems and show skill examining and managing them
• develop endocrine knowledge; evaluate, diagnose and manage amenorrhea, galactorrhea and hirsutism
• understand and manage pelvic inflammatory disease and its complications
• identify and manage polycystic ovary syndrome and associated metabolic problems

During this rotation, you can expect to develop your ability to provide effective, compassionate care. You’ll gain experience recording data in the medical record in a thorough, systematic manner and at regular, timely intervals. Such documentation will include not only documentation of the facts; it will also reflect the reasoning underlying your decision making. 

Further, to help you succeed as a preventive medicine specialist, we’ll ensure you are familiar with a range of key areas during this rotation, including:

• basic science aspects of gynecological disease, including risk factors, pathogenesis, diagnosis and management 
• lifestyle changes, including dietary approaches, to stop hypertension in hypertensive disorders 
• lifestyle modification strategies for alcohol, substance use disorder and weight management in cardiovascular diseases
• primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease risk factors in patients 
• behavioral modification strategies for smoking cessation in women
• screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment for substance use disorder and those at risk for these disorders
• hepatitis C and HIV screening in women 

You will participate in patient care in a monthly half-day session for a period of two years.

This rotation is overseen by: