Educational Goal
Our objective is to provide a high-quality education experience, prepare residents for roles as practicing obstetrician-gynecologists, and support those residents going on to fellowship training. The curriculum involves traditional in-class (or virtual) lectures, hands-on simulations, anatomy labs, intern boot camp, and standardized patient scenarios. Our residency program takes advantage of Albany Medical College’s state-of-the-art Patient Safety and Clinical Competency Center (PSCCC), which has simulation technology, task training tools, and a robust standardized patient program.
Clinical Educator Track
We offer a Clinical Educator Track (CET), which is a longitudinal educational experience emphasizing clinical and didactic teaching skills, curriculum development, and educational resources that prepare residents interested in scholarly activity and careers in clinical education. Residents who complete this track receive a Distinction in Medical Education upon graduation.
ARROW Research Curriculum
ARROW (Albany Resident Research in OBGYN Works) is our resident research program, which was developed based on published guidance from fellowship directors, feedback from our own alumni, and a growing recognition of the need for all practicing physicians to have the ability to critically evaluate new research. Its objectives are to standardize research education enabling residents to develop an understanding of clinical research and its application in OBGYN; encourage scholarly activity and foster mentorship among residents; and grow the number of resident presentations and publications.
The program runs all four years, with a two-year cycle of lectures, ongoing small-group support, and individual research project mentorship.
Lectures provide formal education in research methodology, data analysis, and dissemination, using a combination of didactic lectures and small-group application of skills. Guidance and mentorship is also provided on research basics (study design, research conduct and avoiding bias, and statistical analysis) and presentation skills (creating effective posters, creating and delivering oral presentations, formatting abstracts and manuscripts, and navigating the publication process).
ARROW research teams meet quarterly to discuss current research projects and to give advice and support. The teams are comprised of one resident from each year; individual project mentors, to provide project-specific support and close mentorship; and two faculty facilitators, to provide additional support and guidance. Residents present their individual research projects in June of their PGY-3 year.
Obstetric research topics
- Screening for substance use during prenatal care
- Impact of visual art on patient experience during antepartum hospitalization
- Vasa previa causation, placental pathology, outcomes, and recurrence risk
- Severe postpartum hemorrhage risk assessment
- Effect of antibiotics and tocolysis after exam-indicated cerclage on latency
- Maternal ketonuria at scheduled term Cesarean delivery
- Association between severe maternal morbidity and communication barriers
Gynecologic research topics
- Female sexual function and pelvic pain
- Assessment of interactive patient contraceptive counseling tool
- Trocar-mediated bladder injury
- End of life doulas in Gyn Oncology
- Patient perceptions of gender-inclusive language in gynecologic care
- Predictors of pain relief in patients with interstitial cystitis
- Interest in opportunistic salpingectomy among patients undergoing non-gynecologic surgery
- Assessing trends in female permanent contraception following the Dobbs decision
- Open versus minimally-invasive tumor debulking in the geriatric population
- Operating room allocation during the Covid-19 pandemic
Medical education research topics
- Medical student preparedness for procedural abortion cases
- Non-directive pregnancy options counseling in undergraduate medical education
- Medical student needs during the residency application process
- Exploring medical students’ understanding of sexual assault
- Challenges for lactating medical trainees on clinical rotations
- Barriers to gynecologic care in medical students and residents
* Presented at national conference
** Published in peer-reviewed journal
2023
Preethi Govindarajan, MD
“Impact of Gender Inclusive Language in Obstetrics and Gynecology”
Karissa Leong, MD
“Patient Satisfaction Using My Accessible Contraceptive Tool (myACT)”
Brooke Zaiz, MD
“A Qualitative Analysis of Medical Students’ Experiences with Second Trimester Surgical Abortions” *
Gabriella Mylod, MD
“FLS Scores in OB/GYN Residents: Does a History of Musical or Athletic Performance Matter?”
Aurora Phillips, MD
“The Association Between Abortion Restrictions and Patient-Centered Care for Early Pregnancy Loss at U.S. OB/GYN Residency Programs” *,**
Ellen Villafuerte, MD
“Exploring Patient Perceptions of Pessaries After Initial Consultation: A Qualitative Study”
2022
Ruba Alafifi, MD
“Alternate sites for blood pressure measurement in pregnancy” *,**
Colleen Gardner, MD
“Re-defining fetal growth restriction in Class III obesity”
Kayla Hudson, MD
“The effect of a standardized post-cesarean section pain regimen on postpartum opioid use” *,**
Ashwini Javlekar, MD
“Effect of ultrasound location on certainty of initial pregnancy diagnosis: a retrospective cohort study at an academic medical center” *
Elaine Jaworski, MD
“Dilapan-S® for induction of labor: assessing outpatient placement and effectiveness (the feasibility study)”
Ariana Munger, MD
“Surgical and non-surgical clerkships: comparing student perceptions of ethical and professionalism issues” *
2021
Tania Aziz, MD
“Documentation of patient coping and future goals after previable pregnancy loss: effect of a family planning program” *,**
Keri Bergin, MD
“Impact of the Endometrial Receptivity Analysis” *,**
Claire Jordan, MD
“A secret shopper analysis of crisis pregnancy centers in New York State” *,**
Brooke Lamparello, MD
“Interventions to Improve Dental Care in Pregnancy”
Caitlin Parrott, MD
“Correlation Between the Updated Chronic Hypertension Guidelines and Cesarean Delivery” *,**
Katrina Ressler, DO
“Screening for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome”
2020
Samhita Bhat, MD
“Immunohistochemical Analysis of Endometriosis Implants staged by the ASRM revised protocol”
Fatima Daoud, MD
“Simulation of Transvaginal Cerclage for Trainees”
Serena Liu, MD
“A single-blinded randomized controlled trial evaluating pain and opioid use after osmotic dilator placement for second-trimester abortion” *,**
Katherine Niegisch, MD
“Perinatal oral health: Where we are now and opportunities for improvement”
Katie Pivarnik, MD
“Individual abortion providers’ experiences with targeted harassment” *,**
2023
Frasik C*, Jordan C*, McLeod C, Flink-Bochacki R. A mystery client study of crisis pregnancy center practices in New York State. Contraception 2023:117:36-38.
Husk KE, Leong K, Rogers RG, Deverdis EC. Public Awareness of Obesity and Risk of Pelvic Floor Disorders. Urogynecology. 2023 Feb 1; 29(2):260-65.
Natenzon A, Parrott CW, Manem N, Zelig CM. Stage 1 Hypertension in Nulliparous Pregnant Patients and Risk of Unplanned Cesarean Delivery. Am J Perinatol 2023;40(3):235-242.
Phillips AM, Rachad S, Flink-Bochacki R (2023). The association between abortion restrictions and patient-centered care for early pregnancy loss at U.S. OB/GYN residency programs. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2023 Jul;229(1):41.e1-41.e10.
2022
Aziz T, Gobioff S, Flink-Bochacki R. Effect of a family planning program on documented emotional support and reproductive goals counseling after previable pregnancy loss. Patient Educ Couns 2022:105(10)3071-3077.
Bringley J, Zu V, Javlekar A, Daoud Yilmaz F, Flink-Bochacki R. Effects of rotating at a Catholic hospital on medical student contraceptive objective structured clinical exam scores. Contraception. 2022;106:64-67.
Crofton K, Marici E, Wilson-Leedy JG. Essure Device Migration after Bilateral Partial Salpingectomy at the Time of Cesarean Delivery. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2022 May;29(5):596-598.
McLeod C, Pivarnik K, Flink-Bochacki R. Individual abortion providers’ experiences with targeted harassment in the United States. Contraception. 2022;107:42-47.
2021
Bergin K, Eliner Y, Duvall D, Roger S, Elguero S, Penzais A, Sakkas D, Vaughan D. “The use of propensity score matching to assess the benefit of the endometrial receptivity assay (ERA) in frozen embryo transfers.” Fertility and Sterility. 2021:116(2).
Cagino SG, Burke AA, Letner DR, Leizer JM, Zelig CM. Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment: Modifications for Identifying Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in Obstetrical Patients. Am J Perinatol. 2021 Sep 28.
Lende MN, Feustel PJ, Alafifi RL, Lynch TA. Impact of obesity on blood pressures measured at alternative locations during pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2021 Sep;3(5):100441.
Lende MN, Munger AG, Zelig CM. Use of gestation adjusted projection method for predicting fetal head circumference. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2021 May 13:1-5.
Liu SM, Flink-Bochacki R. A single-blinded randomized controlled trial evaluating pain and opioid use after dilator placement for second-trimester abortion. Contraception 2021;103:171-177.
McLeod C, Javlekar A, Flink-Bochacki R. Exploring the relationship between abortion provision and providers’ personal pregnancy and parenting experiences. Women’s Health Issues 2021;31-2:171-176.
Rogers RG, Leong K, Deverdis Crosby EC. Accidental Bowel Leakage. Contemporary OB/GYN. 2021 Sept;66(9).
2020
Pivarnik, K. Syeda, H. Ruptured ectopic pregnancy after hysterectomy with copper intrauterine device in place: A case report. Case Reports in Women’s Health. Vol 27, Jul 2020.
Sanderson DJ, Gevelinger M, Jaworski E, Doyle PJ. Sleep disturbance changes in women after treatment of refractory overactive bladder with sacral neuromodulation. Investig Clin Urol. 2020;61(2):231‐237.
Aziz T, Mayer C, Lynch T, Rijhsinghani A. Surgical resection of antenatally diagnosed orbital teratoma resulting in preservation of the globe. Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports. 2020 September; 60: 101565.
Crees N, Shearrow C, Lin L, Girard J, Arasi K, Bhoraskar A, Berei J, Eckburg, Anderson A, Garcia C, Munger A, Palani S, Smith, Sreenivassappa S, Vitali, David O, Puri N. EGFR/c-Met and mTOR signaling are predictors of survival in non-small cell lung cancer. Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology. 2020;12, (1-15).