|
Welcome!
During the next six weeks, you will be experiencing the exhilaration and frustration involved in the practice of obstetrics and gynecology. We want to stimulate your curiosity and interest, while addressing the basics.
Ultimately, the quality of your experience will depend on the degree of personal involvement in the program and your interaction with the other members of the health care team. We encourage you to frequently and candidly communicate with your preceptors.
Purpose
We have prepared this information to provide an overview of the clerkship in Anchorage. Included are historical facts, geographic considerations, descriptions of teaching hospitals, the clinical setting and faculty, study facilities, call schedule, student housing, and transportation.
Historical Perspective
The WWAMI clinical clerkships provide key opportunities for the medical student to return to or become acquainted with Alaska. Recruiting future physicians for Alaska is a recognized goal of the program and the major reason of continued governmental support.
The Anchorage medical community for women’s health care has had close ties with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Washington. During the early 1970’s, clinical faculty members traveled to Seattle to participate in the teaching program at the University Hospital. Interest in an Anchorage clinical clerkship in OB-GYN led to the first clerkship rotation in the fall of 1978. A full compliment of three students per clerkship since then attests to the popularity of the program. This will increase to four students per rotation in the fall of 2007.
Geographic Considerations
Anchorage, located at the head of Cook Inlet, is the major medical referral center for Alaska. Lying 1500 miles northwest of Seattle, Anchorage had to develop medical facilities to handle most major medical problems. By the early 1970’s, the facilities and the medical personnel were in place. Continued recruitment assures excellent health care for Alaska’s population. The results: an exciting combination of sophisticated health care within a few hundred miles of vast wilderness.
Opportunities for outdoor activities abound. Anticipate cool, wet and cold weather—including snow from November until May.
Teaching Hospitals
Providence Alaska Medical Center and The Sisters of Providence have a long history of pioneering health care in Alaska. The medical center with its modern facilities and well-trained staff of specialists is able to manage most medical problems. The Maternity Center couples a family-oriented staff with a sophisticated “hi-tech” facility. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is one of the largest on the west coast, staffed by experienced nurses and seven neonatologists. To insure expert care for the high-risk mother and fetus, Providence Alaska Medical Center sponsors LIFEGUARD ALASKA, a system of maternal and neonatal transport teams. Often high risk mothers are referred to Anchorage for evaluation and care by the specialists at the medical center. At other times, the maternal and neonatal transport teams travel to remote sites to evaluate, stabilize, and transport patients to Anchorage.
Statistical summaries of the OB-GYN service at Providence Alaska Medical Center have shown peaks in recent years, secondary to the pipeline boom. However, conservatively, approximately 2400 newborns per year are delivered and approximately 1000 gynecological procedures are performed each year.
We use Providence Alaska Medical Center as the main teaching hospital. In-hospital patient care is under the direct supervision of the preceptor physician. The patients’ health care is managed by the team--you and your preceptor.
Clinical Setting and Faculty
The clinical faculty are board certified specialists with a keen interest in teaching. The student is assigned to a preceptor for six weeks. During this period of time, the preceptor and student coordinate their schedules. The days are busy with office hours, lectures, weekly conferences, labor / delivery call, and surgery.
Study Facilities
A conference room for study is available at Anchorage Women’s Clinic located on the Providence Alaska Medical Center campus. You also have privileges at the Health Sciences Library and Sports Center at the University of Alaska, Anchorage located across the street from Providence Alaska Medical Center.
Call Schedule
The students take call from home with their preceptors to attend after-hours births, surgeries and Emergency Room consultations as they occur.
Final Exam
Students will have the option of taking the final written examination in either Anchorage or in Seattle. Students who are returning to Seattle are not released from duties until NOON on the last Wednesday
of the rotation, as they need to check out at UAA and with Dr. McCreary from 9am -noon.
Student Housing
Students are lodged on the UAA campus in a multiple apartment complex adjacent to Providence Alaska Medical Center. You will need to purchase food and personal items. Linens, towels, dishes, iron and ironing board are provided, as well as coin-operated laundry, computer access in each room, and a central area with TV, VCR and printer. Please keep in mind that food costs are approximately 25% higher in Alaska than in Seattle.
Transportation
A Subaru sedan with automatic transmission and studded tires is shared by the students. Operating expenses are paid by students. Insurance is based on a good driving record, so if you have had a violation in the last 3 years, you may not be able to drive the vehicle. There is a geographic radius of 300 miles for insurance coverage. You may rent a car for longer trips. Your private car insurance will not cover the WWAMI leased vehicle.
For more details, please contact the Contact, Kearin Schulte. |
