Program Information

Conferences and Didactic Teaching

Dr. R Jeffrey Chang offers his expertise at an
REI lecture on P.C.O.S.

The department believes firmly that teaching takes many forms, and for this reason many different types of physician-to-physician interchanges are encouraged. The entire faculty is accessible and enthusiastic to teach on rounds, informally in the office, over lunch, in the corridors, and at the bedside.

There is no substitute for the daily instruction which comes from constant faculty availability for staffing, consulting, and informal teaching on the respective services.

In addition, the following are representative of Wednesday afternoon didactic conferences:

  • Reproductive Medicine Grand Rounds, twice monthly
  • Journal Club, monthly
  • Urogynecology Seminar, monthly
  • Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility Lecture Series, 8 weeks during summer months
  • Gyn Oncology Lecture Series, monthly
  • Ultrasound/Genetics Review, twice monthly
  • Reproductive Medicine Case Conference, weekly
  • Fetal Evaluation Conference, quarterly
  • REI Workshop, annually
  • Clinical Skills Labs and Simulation Labs
    • Obstetrical Laceration Repair (once a year)-- Objectives: To practice 1st and 2nd degree laceration repair on pelvic models and 3rd and 4th degree repair on anal spinchter models.
    • Inanimate Hysteroscopy Lab -- Objectives: To gain an understanding of  the risks of hysteroscopy and strategies to reduce them, to be better able to put together a hysteroscope, and to improve hysteroscopic technique during use of the resectoscope and point electrocautery (twizzle tip).
    • Inanimate Laparoscopy Lab (once to twice a year) -- Objectives:  To introduce residents to the unique set of skills required for laparoscopic suturing, including intracorporeal knot tying.  The skill lab will help develop laparoscopic skills through a series of hand-eye exercises, and develop laparoscopic suturing skills through building a series of impediments.
    • Animate Laparoscopy Lab (once to twice a year) -- Objectives: To assemble equipment needed for laparoscopy, understand abdominal insufflation, know the various types of trocars, sites of abdominal entry, practice trocar insertion on porcine model and hand-eye coordination with box trainers, select appropriate patients for laparoscopic surgery, understand basic principles of electrosurgery, gain experience with harmonic scalpel and morcellator, understand the steps of a laparoscopic hysterectomy, practice morcellation, perform “hysterectomy” in porcine model, practice laparoscopic suturing, plan the steps and lead assistants in the laparoscopic “hysterectomy” in porcine model, perform nephrectomy and splenectomy in pigs to practice isolating and taking large vascular pedicles.
    • Clinical Practice Exercise (once a year) -- Objectives: The CPE is for interns and allows the UCSD Reproductive Medicine Residency Program to evaluate your level of competency in four skill areas: history taking, physical examination, patient education and physician-patient interaction.  The patient interactions are recorded and you will have the opportunity to review the video as part of a self assessment process.

The clinical schedules are arranged so that all residents (with the exception of those on call, vacation, or other excused absence) will be able to attend the teaching conferences. Faculty members also attend some of these conferences.

Each resident is allotted a stipend during his/her training to attend educational conferences or to purchase edcational supplies, with approval by the program director. Part of the stipend may be used to purchase textbooks at the beginning of residency training.