Maternity Care & Women’s Health are vital components of Family Medicine, and a strong point of our residency program. The UMKC/University Health Family Medicine Maternity Care Fellowship was instituted at University Health Lakewood Medical Center to provide interested residents with an option to continue their Maternity Care & Women’s Health training.

The program is led by Stephen Vierthaler, MD, Board Certified in Family Medicine (Univ of Iowa Residency) and OB/GYN (Univ of Kansas Residency), graduate of the University of Kansas School of Medicine.

About Us

UMKC/UH Lakewood Medical Center FM department serves Eastern Jackson County, which has a relatively underserved population, consisting of a blend of urban, suburban, rural, and diverse population. We have a strong teaching tradition of maternity care and delivery going back decades, training full spectrum FM physicians, who choose diverse career paths. Our program is unopposed blending academic, university supported learning environment with Board Certified FM and OB faculty, in a community based hospital.

Goals and Objectives for Maternity Care (PDF)

 

Our Program’s Key Features

• Active for 15+ years, and has trained 25+ fellows,with graduates active in          academic, rural, and third world practices
• Especially well balanced in both labor management and surgical skills
• Emphasizes a laborist model, forming teams, and managing multiple antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum patients on L&D simultaneously
• Busy. In the last three years, the FM department has delivered 900-1200 patients/year
• Affiliated with UMKC’s OB/GYN department with seven board-certified faculty, which runs has a parallel service on L&D. The two departments deliver a combined 1600-1700 patients/year. After a brief introductory period, the fellows are the primary surgeons on all patients requiring Cesarian Sections from both services, which is 350-400/year. Each fellow has been getting 120-140+/year.
• The fellow’s schedule emphasizes balance by alternating weeks
  •  Sample Schedule for Maternal Care Fellows
    • one four-day week on Labor and Delivery
    • one four-day week in prenatal care
    • 2.5 days in Family Medicine Maternity Care Clinic
    • 1.5 days in the UMKC OB University Health Clinic
• The inpatient service and Maternity Care Clinic are directly supervised by FM fellowship trained faculty.
• The UMKC OB University Health Clinics are under direct supervision by board certified OB/GYN physicians staffing the following clinics
  • a clinic for tier-system generated high-risk FM pregnancy patients
  • a clinic for FM gynecology patient consults, which emphasizes managing gynecology consults, early pregnancy loss, contraception counseling, office procedures
  • a clinic for pregnancies complicated by COVID.
•  One day of the week is designated to learning
  • weekly strip/case review
  • weekly didactics
  • 12 months scheduled reading list
    • designated core ACOG obstetrics bulletins and publications
    • core obstetrics textbook chapters
  • time for scholarly pursuit.
• Procedural Competence (actual numbers dependent upon patient admissions)
  • Cesarean section (120-150) and follow postpartum
  • Operative vaginal delivery (10)
  • Spontaneous vaginal delivery (80-120)
  • VBAC
  • External cephalic version
  • Repair of 1^stand 2^nd degree laceration (40-60)
  • Repair of 3^rdand 4^th degree laceration (5-10)
  • Obstetric Ultrasound (experience varies)

Fellow Selection and Compensation

Patricia True
Fellowship Coordinator
Email:  umkcfamilymed@umkc.edu 

Compensation –  https://med.umkc.edu/gme/salaries/

The ideal fellowship candidate for our program has these characteristics.

•             Strong communication skills
•             Professionalism in interactions
•             Adaptability with schedule changes
•             Belief in teamwork approach to medical management
•             Ability to receive feedback in constructive way
•             Demonstrates growth as a lifelong learner

Current Family Medicine Maternity Care Fellows

Coral Molina, DO

Bridgid Hast Wilson, MD, PhD

The UH Lakewood Medical Center Birthplace