Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences
Associate Professor and Chair
Hugh E. Mighty, MD, MBA, FACOG
The field of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences forms the central core of Women’s Health Services and deals with health issues and disease specific to the female half of the population. The department provides a learning experience that encourages each student, regardless of ultimate career choice, to develop professional attitude, diagnostic skills and knowledge relevant to the human female and to her sexual and reproductive systems. This experience enables each student to assume more effective responsibility for the general delivery of health care to the adolescent, adult and aging female, and to the newborn.
The student is taught to recognize those practices necessary for health maintenance and disease prevention in the female population. Health-related reproductive and social issues such as family planning, sexually transmitted diseases and abuse are discussed, as well as other aspects of sexual difficulties, sterilization and pregnancy.
The educational material is presented to familiarize students with all sources of knowledge relevant to these subject areas. Students may extend their knowledge and skills in a direction and depth appropriate to current and ultimate career goals.
The service roles focus on the general areas of obstetrical and gynecologic care. Obstetrics deals with a high-risk and low-risk pregnancy population and provides excellent educational opportunities for both student and resident. Gynecology provides exposure to operative management of disease, including minimally invasive surgical techniques, clinical anatomy and pre- and post-operative management. Specialty clinics in endocrinology, complicated pregnancy, cancer, urogynecology, pelvic floor disorders, and family planning provide specialized areas of instruction in addition to serving large numbers of patients.
The department utilizes audiovisual aids to enhance the educational experience of both medical students and residents. The faculty also contributes to the postgraduate educational programs at the University of Maryland Medical System and throughout the state.
Undergraduate Medical Program
The Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences faculty teach in the first-year Cell and Molecular Biology and Functional Systems blocks, in the second-year Pathophysiology/Therapeutics block, and in the Introduction to Clinical Medicine course throughout the pre-clinical years.
Third Year
OBST 530. Clinical Clerkship.
Students are assigned to obstetrics and gynecology for a period of six weeks. As clinical clerks, they participate in the original diagnostic studies, pelvic exam, surgical procedures and postoperative care of hospitalized patients. Instruction in prenatal and gynecologic outpatient care is accomplished in our community clinics. Seminars and departmental conferences with the attending staff and house officers are employed for teaching the art of correlating observations, diagnosis and therapy. Frequent and close contact with faculty is achieved by means of a preceptorial system that assigns a group of three to four students to a member of the faculty for the entire clerkship. In addition to the University of Maryland Medical Center, the other clerkship sites include Mercy Medical Center and Franklin Square Hospital.
Fourth Year
OBST 541. Obstetrics and Gynecology Elective.
The student may choose to spend a four-week elective in one of five subspecialty areas: reproductive endocrinology and infertility, gynecologic oncology, ambulatory Ob/Gyn, gynecology, and family planning.
Affiliated Hospital Electives: Some of the electives are available at Mercy Medical Center.
In addition, a four-week sub-internship in maternal-fetal medicine is offered at the University of Maryland Medical Center.