Clerkships in Obstetrics & Gynecology

All three of our programs in Obstetrics & Gynecology sponsor clerkships. Please Click on the links below for more details. Oakland San Francisco Santa Clara Also remember to review our general policies before you contact our residency coordinators regarding available clerkship dates. Thank you for your interest in our programs, and we hope to hear from you soon.

Oakland Obstetrics & Gynecology Clerkships

UCSF students use Kaiser Oakland as one of the sites for their core 3rd year OB/Gyn blocks. Resident interaction with students further enhances their teaching skills and the students act as an impetus for the residents to teach and practice evidenced based medicine.

Fourth year medical students also do rotations in our department. Many use this opportunity to get a first hand experience of what our residency program is like. Clerkships are encouraged, but not required, for applicants who are seriously considering our residency program.

To arrange for a clerkship, please contact the program coordinator by email at Joel.Barcelona@kp.org or by phone at (510) 752-7772.

To apply for a clerkship at Kaiser Oakland's OB/GYN program, please complete and submit this application (pdf). Applications are accepted and reviewed beginning in January for the upcoming academic year.

San Francisco Obstetrics & Gynecology Clerkships

The Gynecology Department at San Francisco sponsors a one-month clinical clerkship for one fourth-year medical student each month from January through December of each academic year. The clerk's schedules begin on the 1st or 2nd day of the month and run for four weeks. After an applicant has been approved by the Obstetrics/Gynecology Sub-Chief Director and all required documents have been received (i.e., application, immunization record sheet, transcript, and Boards score), the Medical Education Office notifies the student and confirms the elective. The student will then receive the remaining documents prior to his/her first day of the clerkship.

This is a senior GYN clerkship position with inpatient GYN as the main focus. There is exposure to GYN oncology, GYN endocrine, GYN urology and acute care gynecology. The student will be an integral part of the Gynecology Team, responsible for performing patient work-ups, making pre-and post-operative rounds, and scrubbing on gynecological surgical cases - all under the close supervision of the staff and senior resident on the Gynecology Service. The students will be involved in the care of patients with benign and malignant gynecologic problems.

Each student will have hospital duties from Monday through Friday. There will be no required night call or weekend responsibility.

During the clinical clerkship, the student will be expected to make a presentation on a gynecologic topic of his/her choice. Attendance at all gynecologic resident teaching rounds and conferences is expected. The Chief Resident in the Gynecology Service will be responsible for the student's daily assignments.

On days with minimal gynecologic surgery, the student will have the option of attending selected outpatient clinics. This will include, but may not be limited to, gynecologic endocrine and infertility, teenage colposcopy clinic, and acute care clinic.

We will provide a well-rounded clinical experience for the student with close interaction with the staff and resident physicians. The student will see a wide variety of clinical problems and participate in the active teaching program.

Liability, health insurance, and housing arrangements, are the student's responsibilities. Lunches are provided on weekdays. We prefer students to spend one calendar month or approximately four weeks within one month during the elective. We expect committed students. All cancellations must be more than 2 months prior to the scheduled start date. Any cancellations less than 2 months will be communicated to the Dean of Student Affairs and the opportunity to interview for a residency position with the program director in our facility will not be granted.

For information regarding a clerkship at San Francisco and to obtain an application form, please contact Louella Neyman, GME Coordinator at (415) 833-3034 or e-mail her at louella.neyman@kp.org.

If you are interested in applying for an OBGYN clerkship in San Francisco, please complete this application (pdf) and contact Louella.

Santa Clara Obstetrics & Gynecology Clerkships

Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Clara offers an organized curriculum for training senior medical students in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Two clerkships are available: General Ob/Gyn and High Risk Obstetrics.
Clerkship periods are 4 weeks long. The Acting Intern is expected to take 4 overnight calls, including one weekend day, and is excused after Teaching Rounds the next day. The schedule is designed for students who have already completed a basic core Ob/Gyn clerkship. Care is taken to maximally expose the student to all areas of Ob/Gyn and all interesting patients present during the rotation. A schedule will be given to the Acting Intern on the first day of the rotation. Every effort will be made to accommodate special requests!

Acting Interns will identify themselves as medical students when introducing themselves to patients. Patients’ requests not to be cared for by medical students will always be honored.

The Acting Intern will be given increasing levels of responsibility as competence is demonstrated. The ultimate responsibility for patient care remains with the residents and attending physicians. It is the responsibility of the Acting Interns to make sure that all notes and orders are co-signed a M.D.

The Acting Intern will attend Thursday morning didactic sessions, including the 8am resident case presentation. All clinical responsibilities will be excused during this time period. Each Acting Intern is required to prepare a 30-minute case presentation at the end of the rotation. This is done during the 8am resident case presentation to the entire department. The residents and Attending physicians can assist with the topic choice and presentation preparation as needed.

We are an enthusiastic group, committed to teaching and learning in a friendly and supportive environment. It is the Acting Intern’s responsibility to actively read about specific patient conditions. Questions are encouraged.

General Ob/Gyn Acting Internship

1. Gynecology – 1 week
The Acting Intern will be an integral member of the Gyn team, and will be exposed to pre-operative evaluation, intra-operative management, and post-operative care. The Chief Resident will assign topics for presentation at rounds and surgical cases. Daily notes and orders on all patients with which the Acting Intern was involved need to be completed and presented to the resident before 7:30am Teaching Rounds.

2. Obstetrics – 1 week
The Acting Intern, along with the OB team Intern, is responsible for all seeing all normal postpartum patients each morning before 8am. In addition, depending on the Acting Intern interest, the Chief Resident may assign high-risk patients to be seen with the Chief Resident. Daily Teaching Round with the perinatologist begins at 8am, during which all antenatal and other high-risk patients are discussed and obstetrical topics are presented.

3. Gynecology Oncology – 1 week
During this one-week rotation, the Acting Intern will scrub in on all oncology cases, attend morning rounds, and write daily progress notes and orders under the supervision of the Chief Resident. Evening rounds are made with the oncology team and staff oncologist. The clinic experience will include seeing patients with the attending oncologist, helping to write orders and manage chemotherapy patients, and participating in the discussion of management options inherent in an oncology practice. On Thursday mornings, the Gyn Oncology team meets at 9am for weekly didactic session.

4. Clinics – 1 week
Daily clinic assignments will be made at the beginning of the rotation by the Clinic Chief and Clerkship Director, and are designed to expose the Acting Intern to the full scope of outpatient problems unique to the specialty. The assignments can be adjusted to reflect the Acting Intern’s educational goals.

High Risk Obstetrics Acting Internship

1. Acting Interns are expected to assist with morning rounds, seeing routine post-partum patients with the Ob Intern. The Chief Resident will assign one or more antenatal patients to follow as well. During Teaching Rounds at 8am, the Acting Intern will present these patients.

2. Formal rounds are made with the on-call perinatologist at 8am each day. Antenatal and complicated post-partum patients and topics are presented for discussion. The Acting Intern will give short talks on OB subjects during Teaching Rounds. The Chief Resident will select the subjects.

3. In Labor & Delivery, the Acting Interns will be expected to evaluate and co-manage laboring patients and do uncomplicated vaginal deliveries with resident supervision. They are encouraged to observe complicated deliveries and procedures, and to scrub on C-sections. The Acting Interns will also follow some high-risk antenatal patients.

4. Acting Interns will be expected to see and evaluate patients in the Perinatal Health Clinic and present them to the perinatologist. The PHC involves outpatient prenatal care for all high-risk patients.

5. Ultrasound exams are scheduled every day, with some high risk ones are done by a perinatologist. Acting Interns can observe ultrasounds, external versions, and amniocentesis.

Requesting a Clerkship at Santa Clara

In order to begin your request for clerkship, please contact the program coordinator to check for the availability of clerkships on the dates you request. If the dates are available, please complete our application form (pdf) and submit the form and all requested documentation back to our program as soon as possible.

PLEASE NOTE:
No clerkships will be scheduled for the months of June and July.
Applications must be submitted no less than four weeks prior to requested start date.
No changes up to four weeks before your scheduled start date.

For information more regarding clerkships at Santa Clara, please contact Susan Krause, GME Coordinator at (408) 851-3836 or e-mail her at susan.krause@kp.org.