The University of Connecticut [UConn] Health Center’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship program was started in 1980. It is a three-year training program accredited through the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology [ABOG].  The goal of the program is to adequately prepare the fellow for an academic or practice career in Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

Candidates for the program should be able to meet future eligibility requirements to receive subspecialty certification in Maternal-Fetal Medicine as stipulated in ABOG’s publication of General and Special Requirements For Graduate Medical Education in The Subspecialty Areas [ABOG Learning Guidelines]. In order to receive subspecialty certification the fellow must be eligible to take the written and oral exam for certification in general Obstetrics and Gynecology exams given by ABOG.  Therefore, a fellow beginning a program in any one of the subspecialty areas and seeking eligibility to take the examination for certification of special qualifications must have satisfactorily completed an obstetrics and gynecology residency accredited by the American Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), or the Council of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (CRCPSC). Candidates must also have passed the USMLE Step 3 exam.

Training Program Oversight

Graduate medical training programs of the University of Connecticut Health Center are managed through the Capital Area Health Consortium [http://www.cahc.org/ ] and Graduate Medical Education Office of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine [UCONN Residency Fellowship Programs ].  General and specific information about training programs and benefits can be found on these sites.  There are common policies for house-staff in all training programs [ house-staff policy book] and policies specific to the division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. These policies are updated as needed.

Program Faculty and Fellows

The Maternal-Fetal medicine fellowship faculty is located at two training sites [University Of Connecticut Health Center – John Dempsey Hospital and Hartford Hospital].  The faculty members are full-time staff at their respective sites. They are actively involved in clinical care and education and clinical research.  In addition to the Maternal-Fetal Medicine faculty, the program relies on regular input of faculty in important related subspecialty areas of Neonatology, Pediatric Cardiology, Perinatal Pathology, Human Genetics, Developmental Pediatrics, Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine for the fellows training.  The University of Connecticut Health Center and Hartford Hospital have residency and fellowship training programs in all the major medical and surgical fields whose faculty are available for input in the fellow’s training and management of our high risk patients.

During the 3 year program there are 18 months of training in clinical perinatology and 18 months of dedicated research time.  The training block diagrams outline the activities the fellow will focus on in the PGY-5, PGY-6 and PGY 7 year of training.  The weekly schedules are general guides to site activities and might change based on program needs or requirements.

The program prepares the fellow for a career (academic or clinical practice) in Maternal-Fetal Medicine. The program provides experience in clinical evaluation & management of high risk pregnancies. The fellow is part of a team consisting of faculty, fellows, resident house-staff and medical students. This team serves as consultants to regional and local physicians who refer high risk patients for evaluation & management.  The fellow is a member of the UConn Maternal-Fetal Medicine Associates high-risk faculty practice and manages prenatal patients along with the faculty. The PGY 5 year consists of rotations on clinical high risk obstetrics between the educational sites. In this year, clinical consultation/management skills, ultrasound & invasive diagnostic skills are developed; required graduate level courses are started. Rotations on a clinical genetics and dysmorphology service and neonatology are taken at some point during the three years. Thesis research projects are developed, to be initiated in the second year. The PGY 6 year of the program is 12 months for research and continuing graduate level courses. The PGY 7 year completes six months of research, six months of clinical rotation (targeted ultrasound, fetal echocardiography and invasive procedures) and completing mandatory coursework if necessary. Monthly conferences provide inter-disciplinary reviews of selected topics. Fellows receive basic instruction in use of personal computers for research database development and analysis. On-site animal facilities are available for research.

According to ABOG guidelines all fellows must receive training in the cores clinical competencies as developed by ACGME.  Web-based training modules have been developed to fulfill this requirement.