Career Development Opportunities

Career Development

We are committed to providing the very best educational experience for our fellows. This includes protected time and financial support for:

Completion of advanced research degrees (MSCI, MPH)
Educational and career development conferences and workshops
Attendance at educational sessions at scientific meetings (SMFM, SGI)
Participation in statistics/epidemiology, research administration, and grant writing courses
Core textbooks
OB/GYN Oral Board Exam
Research

Additionally, fellows are encouraged to develop individualized learning plans and tailor their experience to their career goals. Fellows, in the past, have been supported in their endeavors to become fetal echo certified, gain additional expertise in complex fetal diagnosis, enhance surgical skills to lead placenta accreta clinical programs, pursue national advocacy and leadership opportunities, and travel internationally to work for the World Health Organization.

Opportunities

Current fellows are actively involved in education, leadership, and advocacy. Previous fellows have made significant contributions to the field in all these areas with many serving on committees or in leadership roles in national and state originations (e.g. SMFM, ACOG, ABOG, etc.), becoming institutional and national leaders in education and administration, and actively participating in the advancement of the field. Examples from current and recently-past fellows:

SMFM Associate Member Representative
SMFM Fellowship Affairs Committee Member
SMFM Patient Safety & Quality Committee Fellow Member
SMFM Board of Directors Fellow Member
Medical Journal Peer Reviewer (Obstetrics & Gynecology, AJOG, BJOG, AJPH, AJP, AJOG-MFM)
Utah Medical Association Board of Delegates Representative
Utah Medical Association Minority Affairs Committee Member
University of Utah Medical Board House Staff Representative
University of Utah Patient Safety Review Committee Member
State of Utah Maternal Mortality Review Committee Member
University of Utah Office of Academic Culture and Community Task Force Member Co-Chair and subcommittee leads
University of Utah Obstetrics and Gynecology Education Committee Member
Utah Perinatal Quality Collaborative Member
Contribution to online publications and resources, including Scientific American (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pregnancy-is-far-more-dangerous-to-women-than-abortion/)
International Stillbirth Alliance 2022 Conference Scientific Advisory Committee
University of Utah Obstetrics and Gynecology Grand Round Committee
Silvia Pierangli Young Scholarship Award- APS Foundation of America

Fellows with special interests in career development beyond research are also encouraged to pursue one of our additional tracks (see below).

Advocacy Track

The physician-advocate role is an essential component of maternal-fetal medicine practice which is tied to social accountability. A focus on policy and advocacy in fellowship can prepare future MFM subspecialists to work toward an fair and just healthcare system and inspire a career commitment to the same. In addition to general health policy, there are topics for which MFM physicians are uniquely qualified as advocates.

MFM Fellow Trainees

We seek to provide a pathway for MFM fellow trainees to broaden their exposure to policy/advocacy work, explore possibilities for career development, and be empowered to advocate on behalf of the patients and communities we serve. In this setting, we define advocacy as "action by a physician to promote those social, economic, education, and political changes that ameliorate the suffering and threats to human health and well-being that they identify through their professional work and experience".

The advocacy track entails numerous opportunities, including protected time to attend ACOG’s Congressional Leadership Conference, complete advocacy training modules, participate in the Utah Medical Association and state/local policy development, and involves an advocacy focused capstone project.

Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Pathway

Maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) specialists are often leaders within their organizations in both inpatient obstetric and outpatient quality improvement (QI) and patient safety initiatives. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires formal training, competency, and active participation in QI and patient safety activities in Obstetrics & Gynecology (OBGYN) residency and MFM fellowship. Despite this, trainees report barriers and insufficient access to formal training, activities, and mentorship in QI and patient safety.

We seek to provide a pathway for MFM fellow trainees to broaden their exposure to QI and patient safety work, explore possibilities for career development, and become active participants in and, eventually, leaders of important QI and patient safety activities in careers.
The program will consist of at least monthly one-on-one mentoring with program faculty and development of an individual development plan (IDP).