Obstetrics & Gynecology at San Francisco
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is it like to do a residency in Kaiser's HMO setting?
- What is the volume of patients?
- Where do your program's residents typically come from?
- Where do your graduates typically go after completing residency?
- Can I afford to live in San Francisco on a resident's salary?
- How many days off do residents receive?
- Is research required?
- Is the program fully accredited?
1. What is it like to do a residency in Kaiser's HMO setting?
The academically oriented Kaiser Permanente OB/GYN Residency Program at San Francisco combines the best aspects of a classical university residency program with the diverse case mix and hands on experience of a high volume community medical center. Residents benefit from working closely with the staff physicians of our large medical group practice who enjoy clinical teaching. Because Kaiser is a physician driven HMO, all medical decisions are made by physicians and not by an insurance company. Since Kaiser is an integrated medical system, our residents work with a powerful electronic medical record and there are no barriers to obtaining appropriate consultations or clinical tests for their patients.
2 . What is the volume of patients?
Kaiser Permanente Northern California has a patient base of well over 3 million Health Plan members. Our San Francisco facility is the referral facility for a number of these diverse patients and residents find that virtually all of our patients are part of the teaching service. These patients provide our residents with ample clinical experience in all aspects of Gynecologic and Obstetrical care.
3. Where do your program's residents typically come from?
Applicants are from medical schools throughout the United States. Our current residents attended medical schools in Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Oregon, and throughout California. A roster of current residents can be found under "Our Residents"
4 . Where do your graduates typically go after completing residency?
The majority of our graduates go on to a general Ob/Gyn clinical practice and many of them join The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG). Over the past five years 5 residents joined Kaiser Northern California, 1 joined Kaiser Southern California, 8 joined private practice groups, 1 joined a non-profit community group, 1 joined a University teaching group, and 4 were accepted into fellowships (MFM, MFM-genetics, Gyn Oncology, REI). For more detailed information, see "Our Residents".
5 . Can I afford to live in San Francisco on a resident's salary?
Though rents are expensive, all of our residents are living comfortably. Kaiser Permanente resident salaries are among the highest in our region. In addition to your salary, the program covers the cost of your medical license and meals when on duty.
6. How many days off do residents receive?
There are three weeks of vacation and one week of educational leave each year.
7. Is research required?
Residents are required to complete a research project, with the help of a faculty research mentor. They can also receive assistance from the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute and the Division of Research (DOR). The DOR offers unprecedented research support specifically for resident research projects- including didactics, study design, power calculations, electronic data abstraction, and statistical analysis. Though publication is not required, this is highly encouraged. The program sponsors an annual research symposium for residents of all Northern California Kaiser Ob/Gyn programs. Refer to the section on research and publications for recent resident projects.
8. Is the program fully accredited?
Yes, we are proud to be fully accredited for a period of five years. Most programs’ accreditation length is three or four years. The five year cycle is currently the highest level of accreditation possible and reserved for only a few outstanding programs in the nation. We received a five year accreditation in 1997, again in 2002, and our third five year accreditation in 2007 (a site visit that found no areas of non-compliance)! Our next scheduled program site visit will be in 2013.