TULSA — OU -TU SCHOOL OF COMMUNIT Y MEDICINE
Family medicine residents who plan to offer obstetrics care are being offered an extra layer of training through a new program at the OU-TU School of Community Medicine.
Family Medicine Residents to Receive Extra OB Training Through the creation of an innovative new program, the OU-TU School of Community Medicine is providing an additional level of training for family medicine residents who plan to offer obstetrics care when they begin their own practices.
A total of 16 family medicine obstetrics track residents will rotate through several clinical sites, including the Okmulgee Indian Health Center of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation; the college’s own sites on the Schusterman campus at 41st and
The program, made possible by a $2.6 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, is a collaboration between the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. It sends family medicine residents into rural, tribal and underserved areas of Oklahoma to provide prenatal care under the supervision of attending physicians. Ultimately, the program aims to foster a desire among residents to practice in rural Oklahoma, and to give them the skills to provide the obstetrics care that is lacking in many areas of the state. “Oftentimes, patients in rural areas receive almost no prenatal care,” said Karen Gold, M.D., chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and principal investigator of the grant. “A lack of transportation or being unable to leave work often prevents them from driving to Tulsa for the approximately 10 visits they need from their first trimester through delivery. If we can offer these services in rural areas, we can detect problems before they have a chance to become bigger problems that could send them to the emergency room. Patients deserve to have access to prenatal care no matter where they live.”
Viviane Sachs, M.D.
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