The medical school at Harvard University is ranked number one across the country for women's health studies. In their third year, students spend three months rotating through obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics.
Other high-ranking schools in the Northeast are Columbia University in New York City -- number six -- and ninth-ranked Yale University in Connecticut. At Columbia, medical students have a five-week women's health rotation at one of three large local hospitals. Students observe and participate in basic health services including births, surgery and pelvic exams. Yale's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences has residency programs for medical school graduates. Options include a focus on maternal and fetal medicine, oncology, reproductive health and fertility and reconstructive surgery.
In the Mid-Atlantic states, the University of Pennsylvania medical school's department of obstetrics and gynecology is rated number three. First year residents spend nine months rotating through the services, including labor and delivery, clinics and oncology. Johns Hopkins University and the University of Pittsburgh are tied for fourth place. At Johns Hopkins, medical students spend six weeks in inpatient OB/GYN services and two electives, such as mood disorders and gynecologic pathology. In addition, there is an extended experience in the clinic. OB/GYN residents at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School gain experience at the Magee-Womens Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. In addition to their own studies, residents train medical students who are at the hospital for short-term rotations.
Located close to the Great Lakes, the medical school at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor is ranked seventh. Medical students who rotate through the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology are expected to learn about and perform many common procedures, such as pelvic exams, contraceptive counseling and breast exams. Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine is 11th on the list. Senior medical students interested in OB/GYN are offered electives in such areas as general women's health, research, genetics, endocrinology and infertility. Each course lasts four, eight or 12 weeks.
The second-ranked med school is in the western part of the U.S. During their first two years, medical students at the University of California, San Francisco, take courses in women's health. In their final year, in addition to an OB/GYN rotation, students have the opportunity to take electives, such as fetal therapy and prenatal diagnosis, and participate in faculty research projects. Ranked 10th in the nation, the University of California–Los Angeles offers third-year medical students an intense clerkship in OB/GYN. Students experience two weeks in each area: obstetrics, gynecology and outpatient clinic care. During the six weeks, students are on night call many times, particularly in the delivery room.