UCSF prides itself on providing the highest quality education available in any academic health center in the world. Within this rich environment, our Department offers a wide variety of educational programs for students at many different levels of their professional development, including medical, nurse-midwife, nurse practitioner and graduate students, as well as residents, clinical fellows and postdoctoral scholars. We also provide ongoing opportunities for health care practitioners to continue to develop their fund of knowledge in women's health, integrating the most recent evidence-based medicine with continuing medical education and career development support. The scope of our mission is broad, but a spirit of collaboration and emphasis on individual growth permeate the whole.
Curricular strands woven throughout the educational program focus on care for medically underserved populations, the effects of ethnicity, class and gender on health, the appropriate use of technology, the promotion and protection of the normalcy of birth, the importance of health promotion and disease prevention, population-appropriate health education and the right of each individual to safe, satisfying health care. We endeavor to advance our students' knowledge and skills, promote creative expression and ensure the acquisition of the tools necessary for life-long learning. The specific methods used to achieve these goals are as variable as the students we guide, the patients we care for and the environments in which we work. Like Paul E. Gray, we believe, "The most important outcome of education is to help students become independent of formal education."