Overview

Curriculum & Applicant Requirements

Thank you for your interest in the Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery fellowship program at UMass Chan Medical School. The UMass Chan urogynecology fellowship is a 3-year program. There are currently three surgeons and one nurse practitioner who serve as faculty in the Urogynecology Division at the main campus, UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, MA. Fellows also rotate with three surgeons at UMass Chan Medical School- at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA, which increases the breadth of experience.

The UMass Chan urogynecology fellowship offers an integrated pelvic floor curriculum including vaginal, laparoscopic, robotic, and open abdominal surgical approaches to management of pelvic oral prolapse. Fellows will also gain experience in non-surgical approaches to pelvic floor dysfunction including pessary management, behavioral interventions, and pelvic floor physical therapy. Fellows gain autonomy through management of their own patients through their weekly continuity clinic throughout their entire fellowship. Fellows experience close collaboration with the departments of urology and colorectal surgery (including the anal physiology lab) through their rotations and co-management of patients. Fellows can determine the content of their elective block which can involve travel to Rwanda with Dr. Hall to perform fistula surgeries. 

The didactics program is held at least weekly and utilizes a variety of formats to instill learning of urogynecology concepts. Didactics includes journal clubs, chapter reviews, lectures by faculty, frequent statistics reviews with Kathy Leung (statistician dedicated to UMass OB/GYN department), joint geriatric-urogynecology quarterly conferences, joint monthly UMass Chan urogynecology and maternal fetal medicine fellows lecture series, and monthly regional virtual lecture series with other urogyneocology fellowship programs (e.g., Cooper University HealthCare, University of Louisville School of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine). The urogynecology fellows interact extensively with the OB/GYN residents and medical students at each site as clinical and classroom educators.  Fellows gain experience with running beef tongue perineal laceration model and clay pelvic models for hands-on simulation labs for OB/GYN residents.

Each fellow is given 12 months of dedicated research time within the three years of fellowship.  Current research activities are typically clinically-focused. For fellows who are interested in basic science and translational research, there are opportunities for collaboration with UMass Chan Medical School or the bioengineering department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. There is an opportunity to enroll in a Masters in Clinical Investigation or the Masters in Public Health degree programs through the medical school which can be completed during the three year fellowship. 

The UMass Chan urogynecology fellowship program was accredited by the American Board of Obstetricians Gynecologists (ABOG) in 2007 and by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in 2014.  The fellowship curriculum has been designed to follow the ABOG Guide to Learning in FPMRS as well as the ACGME FPMRS Milestones (see supplemental guide for more details). 

The ACGME approved an expansion of our program to 3 fellows in February 2023.  Fellows now spend monthly rotations with our colleagues at Baystate Medical Center and there is one fellow at Baystate at all times. This not only expands the surgical program but also leads to greater research collaboration between the campuses.