A 4 week elective is scheduled in the PGY3 year. Residents may choose a variety of elective educational opportunities, based on their unique educational needs. All elective rotations need to be set up in advance with clear educational goals and objectives and a mentor who will evaluate the resident performance at the end.
Some examples of previous elective rotations:
- Fellowship 'showcase' months in Gyn Oncology, Family Planning, Urogynecology, Reproductive Endocrinology
- Rotations to explore post-residency practice opportunities such as rural months (in Maine and elsewhere), or local community “job auditions”. Residents have similarly travelled to Michigan, Hawaii, Iowa and other potential future employment opportunities.
- International Rotations to pursue interest and skills in global health. Past residents have gone to India, Nepal, and Botswana amongst other sites.
Global Health Opportunities
The department and the residency program have a long history and tradition of international medical mission trips and/or global health electives. Third year residents may choose to use their elective for an immersive global health experience accessing approved and established programs at other institutions. Additionally, senior level residents in good standing may participate in elective 1–2-week medical mission trips if available. These are not required and exist outside of the department. Internal grant funding opportunities exist to potentially assist in defraying the costs .
The goal of either experience is:
- To care for complex Gynecologic and Obstetric problems with increased autonomy in a limited resource setting.
- To experience the challenges and rewards of Global Health.
Prior experiences have included Peru, Bangladesh, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Botswana amongst others. The program will continue to support these efforts and provide space and opportunity within the scope of the entire program whenever possible.