Hello OBGYN team,

Goodbye February and hello March! As we end Black History Month, let us continue to learn more and celebrate the pioneers, like Sophia Bethena Jones MD, the first African-American female graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School in 1885. These brave and courageous men and women broke down barriers and fought to be doctors, nurses, and other health care providers.

Their legacy lives on each and every day as we strive to create a culture that welcomes all, cares for all equally, and supports the needs, wishes, and dreams of all students, faculty, and staff.

Best,

Dee E. Fenner, MD

Nearly 20 students enrolled in the 2021 OBGYN Residency Preparation Course. The students had the opportunity to learn from over 35 Michigan Medicine faculty, fellows, residents, nurses, and certified nurse-midwives.

The work of the Michigan Medicine prenatal care redesign team - led by Dr. Alex Peahl, MD, MSc - was recently cited in a health policy brief released by the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy, saying:

"Even as some virtual care policies are withdrawn, the landscape shift has increased the adoption of hybrid remote and in-person maternity care models. Prior to the pandemic maternity care providers, even if they were reimbursed under a global fee for maternity care, did not commonly use virtual visits because these visits did not 'count' as allowable prenatal visits. One of the most well-known hybrid maternity care models grew out of research at the University of Michigan Medical School, and is called the 4-1-4 prenatal plan. This model predated the COVID-19 pandemic and aimed to address the challenges of frequent in-person prenatal visits by shifting to 4 in-person visits, 1 ultrasound visit, and 4 virtual visits. Guiding this prenatal model are two principles: 1) designing care delivery around essential clinical services, and 2) creating flexible services and allowing patients to tailor support to meet their needs. While this model is early in its implementation, the principles guiding its design reflect a growing push towards a more patient-centered model of maternity care, where care is tailored to meet pregnant people’s needs. Maternity care clinicians adopted this 4:1:4 model early in the pandemic, though further work is needed to determine how this model has spread and changed over the course of the pandemic."

Introducing Erin Wal - our new OBGYN Residency Program manager! Before stepping into her new position with the Residency Program, Erin served as our Michigan Medicine OBGYN clerkship director for two years.

Please welcome Andre Gardette, our new OBGYN clerkship coordinator! Andre brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, having spent the last ten years as the Michigan Medicine Resident Assistant for the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

A resident-led quality improvement (QI) initiative at Michigan Medicine to administer antibiotics during OASIS repair led to a 55% reduction in postpartum wound breakdown/infections!

Learn more in the recently published article by former Department of OBGYN resident, Dr. Meghan Bugosh, MD, and current faculty members, Drs. Carolyn Swenson, MD, Roger Smith, MD, and Dee Fenner, MD.

Dr. Erica Marsh, MD, MSCI, was also featured on Michigan Minds, a University of Michigan podcast designed to make faculty expertise accessible to a wider audience.

In the episode, Dr. Marsh discusses health care hesitancy among Black patients and medical professionals within the Black community and talks about the importance of examining issues of racial and ethnic disparities within health care.

Please welcome our new Educational Chief, Dr. Luke Burns, and our new Quality Improvement Chief, Dr. Daniel Miranian, to the residency leadership team!

In their new article, former University of Michigan medical student, Dr. Laura Donahue, MD, Dr. Helen Morgan, MD, and their coauthors consider the environmental impact of residency interview travel and suggest that medical education leaders could help reduce the carbon footprint by encouraging a reduction in the number of in-person interviews attended by applicants.

The Michigan Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is pleased to announce the 30th John R.G. Gosling Lecture speaker: Analisa DiFeo, PhD.

Dr. DiFeo is an Associate Professor with a joint appointment in the Michigan Medicine Departments of Pathology and ObGyn. Dr. DiFeo’s dedication to ovarian cancer research is evidenced by her accomplishments, which include >66 peer-reviewed publications in prestigious journals, numerous federal, foundation and industry grants, and her own translational research lab - the DiFeo Lab - here at Michigan Medicine.

The 2021 Gosling Lecture will be held virtually during the Department of OBGYN Grand Rounds on Thursday, March 11th, 2021 (7:30-8:30 am). Michigan Medicine faculty and staff are encouraged to participate.

Their contributions to the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) exams and the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) program support the design and development of the highest quality assessments of competencies relevant to health professions practice in the US and around the world. These assessments provide information to individuals, schools, programs, and, in the case of licensure for practice, state regulatory boards.

In 2020, Drs. Hammoud and Stalburg served on the NBME Board, the 80-member governing body that is responsible for establishing policy for the NBME.

Dr. Hammoud also served on the IFOM Committee, responsible for developing and reviewing IFOM Clinical Science Exam (CSE) test questions, and the International Oversight Committee, which works to ensure that the NBME enhances the quality of health care throughout the world.

Dr. Stalburg served on the USMLE Forms Review Group, which reviews examination forms (multiple-choice questions and cases) to ensure that each form is balanced in terms of content, and also demonstrates breadth across content. In addition, she served on the USMLE Interdisciplinary Review Committee, working to ensure the accuracy and currency of items included on the examinations, and the USMLE Test Material Development Committee, responsible for developing and reviewing the test items and cases from which the USMLE is composed.

Keli Santos- Parker, a fourth-year University of Michigan medical student under the mentorship of Department of OBGYN faculty Drs. Maya Hammoud, MD, MBA, and Helen Morgan, MD, was awarded 2nd place for his oral presentation of their abstract, "Coordinated Dissemination of Interview Offers on Standardized Dates Limits Excessive Interviewing."

The Robert K Ferguson and Virginia A. Ferguson Professorship in Obstetrics and Gynecology was established in 2019 to recognize the achievements and long history of providing exceptional obstetric and gynecologic care to women by Dr. Robert K. Ferguson.

The Professorship is awarded to a faculty member in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology who is committed to providing exceptional clinical care to women while teaching and mentoring residents and medical students to carry on this tradition.

Dr. Suzie As-Sanie, MD, MPH is a highly accomplished clinician, researcher, and educator. She has established an international reputation for clinical research and teaching in the narrow field of female chronic pelvic pain disorders, and her clinical skills in advanced minimally invasive surgery.

Within both her research and clinical work, Dr. As-Sanie’s major interests in the comprehensive care of women with complex gynecologic conditions including endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain, uterine fibroids, abnormal uterine bleeding, and benign ovarian masses have led to over 60 peer-reviewed publications, numerous teaching awards, and over 80 invited national and international presentations.

Dr. Erica Marsh, MD, MSCI, was awarded the 2020 Outstanding Faculty Award by the Michigan Institute For Clinical & Health Research (MICHR)

Dr. Marsh's commitment to promoting a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization at MICHR, Michigan Medicine & beyond has been well documented and proven. Her leadership, hard work & dedication is greatly appreciated, as is her outstanding work in the community to highlight COVID-19 and other health disparities, and her work to give black employees and faculty a voice.

The annual Diversity in Medicine Conference at the University of Michigan aims to unite health professions students, trainees, and faculty from across the country to share the work they are doing to increase diversity in medicine.

The theme of the 2021 DiM Conference is Enacting Change: The Physician’s Role in Social Justice, Diversity, and Intersectionality.

Date: Saturday, March 6th, 2021

Time: 9 am - 4 pm

Location: Virtual

The Michigan Medicine Office for Health Equity & Inclusion (OHEI) offers a variety of events and training courses to support, promote, and optimize a culture of inclusion, equity, and diversity.

Mark your calendars for the 2021 Annual Norman F. Miller University of Michigan Alumni Society Meeting. Next year's meeting will be held on Friday, September 24, 2021. Stay tuned for more details!

Joanne Bailey, CNM, Director of the Nurse Midwifery Service skied to the hospital bright and early to cover the CNM service during February's big snowstorm.

Thank you, Joanne, for swooping in to save the day and deliver our littlest victors!

Birth Detroit is a team of birth workers, birth advocates, public health leaders, and community volunteers working together to open Detroit’s first freestanding community birth center.

Birth Detroit is planning a capital campaign, launching in Spring 2021, to raise funds to purchase a building, renovate the building, and fund first-year operating expenses. The working fundraising goal is $2.5 million, with plans to open the birth center in 2022. Birth Detroit is currently seeking committee members to help plan and steer the campaign. They are also seeking partnerships with donors and foundations to achieve our vision of a world where birth is safe, sacred, loving, and celebrated for all people. For more information or to get involved, contact mary@birthdetroit.com.

Please join our virtual wellness groups for more resources and connections!

Gift of Life – an international blood stem cell and marrow registry that finds matching donors for patients battling diseases like leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell, and other genetic disorders – is seeking to grow this public registry and is in particular need of diverse donors.

The Creative Services photo studio is open again and accepting appointments!

The photo studio is located on the second floor of the North Campus Administrative Complex (NCAC). Faculty can currently sign up for a time in March or April.