Mission

The mission of the GS&O Residency is to provide optimal health care to all individuals requiring obstetrics or gynecologic care, and train the future leaders of our profession into competent physicians that possess medical knowledge, competence, and professional attributes necessary to enter practice independently, and who will enhance our specialty through expert care, continued education, and research We serve patients and their families through: excellent patient and family centered care, education of the next generation of medical professionals, life-long learning for healthcare providers and patients innovative and progressive research.

Vision

Tripler's GS&O Residency trains the future leaders of our specialty. We aspire to always provide optimal health care to our patients. We strive to be an academically robust program with national impact that provides cutting-edge training in an environment infused with curiosity, collaboration, passion for teaching, learning and the pursuit of new knowledge.

Aims

• Aim 1: Prepare residents to be outstanding obstetrician-gynecologists in academic or community practice settings
• Aim 2: Support graduates who plan to pursue subspecialty fellowship training
• Aim 3: Expose residents to high-functioning collaborative practice models with certified nurse midwives and other advanced practitioners
• Aim 4: Address the clinical problems, care delivery challenges, as well determinants of health unique to our military community
• Aim 5: Foster the professional development of residents as current and future medical educators
• Aim 6: Nurture a learning, clinical and professional environment that supports physician well-being

The GS&O Residency has a well- defined academic curriculum which is cross referenced with the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG) objectives. This curriculum is reviewed annually for areas of improvement.

Conferences/Academics:

• Morning report occurs 7:15 to 7:45 a.m. Monday - Thursday. Residents from various services rotate through case presentations and discussions of interesting cases. Journal club is held monthly. The program participates in hospital grand rounds monthly.
• Afternoon Academics occur on Fridays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. and includes staff and resident led lectures as well as off service guest speakers.
• Additional multidisciplinary conferences occur on a recurring basis throughout the month and are listed on the monthly conference schedule (Simulation (first week), Perinatal Planning Meeting, Tumor Board (second week), Morbidity and Mortality Conference (4th week)). It is the resident’s responsibility to attend all conferences.

The Tripler GS&O Residency is a balanced educational program which offers comprehensive experience with training in all techniques and modalities of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

Rotation Locations

• PGY-1: Tripler Army Medical Center
• PGY-2: Tripler Army Medical Center, Kaiser Medical Center (Honolulu)
• PGY-3: Tripler Army Medical Center, William Beaumont (El Paso, Texas) or Anne Arundel Medical Center (Annapolis, Maryland), Naval Hospital Okinawa Japan
• PGY-4: Tripler Army Medical Center, Legacy Health System (Portland, Oregon)

Rotation Schedule Per Year

The curriculum is founded on several core rotations as detailed below. Each rotation has dedicated goals and objectives which provide guidance to residents and faculty in achieving proficiency in ACGME core competencies. Residency starts on July 1st of the academic year and concludes June 30th, four years later.

Rotations are divided as such:

• PGY-1: Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Medicine, Labor and Delivery Night Float, Same Day Evaluation Clinic, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Gynecology, and Labor and Delivery
• PGY-2: Labor and Delivery Night Float, Same Day Evaluation Clinic, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Labor and Delivery, Gynecology, Gynecologic Oncology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center
• PGY-3: Labor and Delivery Night Float, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Labor and Delivery, Gynecology, Gynecologic Oncology, William Beaumont (El Paso, Texas) or Anne Arundel Medical Center (Annapolis, Maryland), Okinawa Naval Hospital (Obstetrics/MFM)
• PGY-4: Labor and Delivery Night Float, Labor and Delivery, Gynecology, Urogynecology, Gynecologic Oncology at Tripler and Legacy Health Systems (Portland, Oregon)

Residents may elect to pursue additional training in family planning. This is conducted through the University of Hawaii. Residents have also arranged elective rotations in Gynecologic Oncology and Tropical Medicine.

• Sunday through Friday morning: 6 to 6:45 p.m. Night Float Labor and Delivery
• Friday evening: 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. Labor and Delivery Call PGY1 – PGY4
• Saturday: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Labor and Delivery Call PGY1 – PGY4
• Sunday: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Labor and Delivery Call PGY1 – PGY4

GYN pager coverage: PGY3s, PGY4s

The GS&O Residency Program has a well vetted resident clinical and call schedule which remains well within the 80-hour work week and accounts for adequate time off between clinical obligations.

The academic curriculum incorporates topics related to military professional development and the role of the gynecologic surgeon and obstetrician within the Army and Defense Health Agency. These lectures are presented by select faculty with emphasis on the experience in the diverse clinical roles within Army Medicine. Presentations are included on deployed medicine opportunities. Professional and career development lectures are included as part of this curriculum.

All GS&O Residents are required to complete the following certifications:

• Basic Life Support Training
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support
• Neonatal Resuscitation Program Course
• Fetal Heart Monitoring Course
• Emergencies in Clinical Obstetrics
• Fundamental of Laparoscopic Surgery Program
• Army Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills

All GS&O Residents are encouraged to complete the following trainings:

• DaVinci Robot Core Technology Training and Certification
• Advanced Trauma Life Support Course
• Combat Casualty Care Course
• Graduate Medical Education Capstone Course

The American College of Surgeons and American College of Anesthesiologists accredited Tripler Medical Simulation Center is located in 5,550 square feet of space and is comprised of one virtual reality/static simulation room, two simulation rooms, two classrooms and a control room. Department-wide simulations are held monthly and include OASIS live tissue models, obstetric emergencies, Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Training, laparoscopic gynecologic surgery. A live tissue hysterectomy simulation model is conducted bi-annually as well as open abdominal surgery within the cadaver lab. The program rotates through a simulation curriculum each year. Additionally, our residents have participated in the Armed Forces District ACOG meeting Simulation Festival. Residents are encouraged to participate in simulation creation and projects.

The leadership Curriculum is contained within the military unique curriculum. Additionally, chief residents (PGY-4) have the opportunity to participate in USUHS Faculty development sessions, a Graduate Medical Education Capstone Course, a Transition to Practice Seminar as well as a Chief Resident Development Course.

The GS&O Residency Program is an academic program which prides itself on its research legacy and academic effort and production. Consequently, the GS&O Residents have a research curriculum and yearly requirements that lay an academic foundation and allow the resident to establish a competitive CV if they desire to apply for further fellowship training. There are biannual department research meetings to ensure that the residents are progressing in their academic endeavors.

• PGY-1: Complete CITI Training, complete a case report to present at Department Resident Research day (RRD), Person Poster Presentation or Bass Research Symposium. Submit case report to the Armed Forces District Meeting of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AFD) in PGY2 year.
• PGY-2: Identify a project and submit to the Institutional Review Board
• PGY-3: Collect and analyze data
• PGY-4: Finalize project, present at Resident Research Day, Bass Research Symposium or Armed Forces District Meeting of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Senior residents are encouraged to work together as a group to identify and complete a Process Improvement Project and then present their findings at the Department Quality Improvement and Process Improvement Meeting in May/June.

GS&O Residents can engage in professional development throughout the Medical Treatment Facility as well as the state of Hawaii. Past opportunities have included:

• Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences Faculty Development Training, Tripler Army Medical Center
• Perinatal Medicine Conference, Maui
• Hawaii Graduate Medical Education Leadership Symposium, University of Hawaii
• Transition to Practice Seminar, Tripler Army Medical Center
• Graduate Medical Education Senior Resident Capstone Course, Tripler Army Medical Center
• Research Education Symposium, Tripler Army Medical Center

GS&O Residents have the opportunity will rotate at military treatment facilities and civilian Medical Centers across the country. Below is a list of participating site rotations:

• Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
• William Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, Texas
• Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center, Annapolis, Maryland
• Legacy Health Systems, Portland, Oregon

A new rotation has been scheduled to start academic year 2024-2025 at Naval Hospital Okinawa, Japan. This rotation will occur in PGY-3 year and will focus on obstetrics and antepartum care.

Medical Student rotation opportunities are available to all eligible students. Rotations can be scheduled for two or four weeks and can include exposure to Labor and Delivery, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Gynecology, Gynecologic Oncology, Reproductive Endocrinology, and Urogynecology. We also entertain virtual interviews and shadowing experiences. Please contact the program administrator to schedule a rotation.

The interview is designed to assist the applicant is making an optimized decision on the choice of specialty and location of training. Interviews are conducted during the designated interview season, generally from July through mid-October. Interviewees will have the opportunity to meet with program leadership, core faculty and residents. To schedule an interview, the interested applicant should contact the program using the email address listed in the "contact us" section.  

Successful graduates are eligible for board certification by the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Please refer to the ABOG website for details at https://www.abog.org.

Program graduates take the ABOG Qualifying Exam. This exam is offered annually in July. To become fully board certified, applicants are eligible to take the ABOG Certifying Exam up to eight years following graduation. To be eligible to take the ABOG Qualifying Exam, graduates must complete all pre-requisites required by 30 September.

The GS&O Residents participate in the learning process by preparing and delivering educational lectures during didactic sessions. They also present interesting cases at scheduled morning reports. Residents mentor physician assistant students, medical students, and interns as they rotate through the department and participate in monthly journal clubs. The GS&O Residents can apply for academic appointments including USUHS Teaching Fellow.

Residents are free to pursue other teaching opportunities available within the institution or DHA as time permits, such as off service lectures and USUHS practice-based learning.

There is broad subspecialty training represented among the teaching faculty, including Gynecologic Oncology, Urogynecology (Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery), Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Maternal Fetal Medicine. Additional training in Complex Family Planning is available on request through an off-site rotation.

Formal and informal mentorship opportunities are available during training. Incoming PGY-1 residents are assigned a PGY-1 resident mentor. Mentoring opportunities also exist through ACOG.

The program is a professional and collegial one with a cohort of residents and faculty who are dedicated to creating an optimized training environment. The program participates in ACOG/CREOG's national Wellness Week annually. The 5th academic week of the month is devoted to wellness activities. An annual resident retreat is held to discuss the program and strive for continual improvement. Residents also meet monthly with program leadership. Sunny Oahu offers many activities that can be enjoyed year-round.