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Click here to access the 2023-2024 UCSF Residency Program Applicant Handbook

A to Z Scholarship - Advancing Equity and Inclusion

A to Z Medical Excellence Scholarship

The A to Z Medical Excellence Scholarship is happy to partner with the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) to create a unique opportunity to support students who are underrepresented in medicine.

The average medical student applies to 40 residency programs with students pursuing surgical specialties applying to an average of 60 programs. The cost of applying to residency, the last phase in medical education training, can be inhibitory and students without means are often limited to the number of programs they can apply to. Additionally, these costs are not allotted for in medical education loans. Thus, students with financial need face a challenge in covering the cost of residency application.

These expenses, paired with the challenges that students underrepresented in medicine face, create an unmet need. The A to Z Medical Excellence Scholarship and SNMA have partnered to create an opportunity to increase access to residency through this sponsorship. We welcome applicants who are applying into all residency specialties.

UCSF Land Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge the Ramaytush Ohlone people, who are the traditional custodians of this land. We pay our respects to the Ramaytush Ohlone elders, past, present, and future who call this place, the land that UCSF sits upon, their home. We are proud to continue their tradition of coming together and growing as a community. We thank the Ramaytush Ohlone community for their stewardship and support, and we look forward to strengthening our ties as we continue our relationship of mutual respect and understanding.

OUR STATEMENT OF VALUES

The UCSF Residency Program in Obstetrics and Gynecology commits to understanding how histories of oppression, exploitation, and mistreatment of Black and Indigenous communities and other historically excluded communities led to the creation of our specialty and contribute to current inequities in reproductive health and gynecology. We honor the legacies of Lucy, Anarcha, and Betsey in our commitment to reproductive justice, equity, and human rights in our healthcare delivery, research, and education. We are invested in ensuring that all individuals have access to language and race concordant health care as well as to comprehensive reproductive and sexual healthcare, including abortion, contraception, surgery, fertility services, and preventive care. We take immense pride in serving women, and we celebrate the opportunity to care for patients of all gender identities, regardless of sex assigned at birth.

We vow to advocate around issues that affect our patients and their autonomy and for services that maximize the ability of individuals and communities to experience well-being. More so, we refuse to shy away from courageous conversations and advocacy as we know that the care we provide will only be transformed by unrelenting activism, community engagement, and systemic change. We pledge to deliver high-quality, evidence-based health care to all patients, to practice with true collaboration with other health workers, disciplines, and community-based organizations, and to provide a safe, inclusive learning environment for trainees of diverse backgrounds and learning styles. As a residency program based at a public institution, we strive to align our training to the larger societal needs and to prepare OBGYN physicians for careers of service. In our pursuit of clinical excellence, equity and justice, and transformative practice, we pledge to hold ourselves and those around us accountable.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program at the University of California, San Francisco trains physician leaders and advocates who provide innovative, compassionate, and exemplary comprehensive health care by:

•Centering health equity, anti-racism, and anti-oppression in clinical care and in education, particularly for Black and Indigenous individuals, people of color, trans and nonbinary individuals, and immigrant populations;

•Caring for individuals, families, and communities within a variety of settings, leveraging inherent strengths of the community and demonstrating cultural humility;

•Applying scientific evidence within a person-centered framework to deliver dignified and just sexual and reproductive health care;

•Fostering interprofessional and multidisciplinary collaboration and building a diverse workforce, inclusive of historically and contemporaneously excluded communities; and

•Inspiring and preparing thought leaders, researchers, and advocates to transform the practice of obstetrics and gynecology locally, nationally, and internationally.


A Message from Our Directors

We are proud to help train incredible, talented, and motivated individuals who will make a difference in this world. We are looking for applicants who bring enthusiasm and innovation, and for those with diverse identities, experiences, and background, including and centering those from historically and contemporaneously excluded communities. Through rotations at our academic hospital, our safety net hospitals, and community-based settings, our trainees gain excellent experience in family planning, minimally invasive GYN surgery, gynecologic oncology, physiologic birth, and complex obstetrics including operative vaginal delivery. We are the #1 NIH-funded women’s health program in the country and over half of our graduating residents enter further training including the traditional OBGYN fellowships as well as Minimally Invasive Surgery, Addiction Medicine, Global Health, Palliative Care, and research fellowships. We strive to train residents who will serve the workforce needs of our state and country and who will provide exemplary, patient-centered care to all patients including the most marginalized. We are fortunate to have a diverse group of residents who enrich our department, augment the educational experience of our trainees, and enhance the care we provide our patients. We are strongly committed to evidence-based medicine, health equity, comprehensive reproductive health, including abortion and contraception, interprofessional work, and care for the underserved. These values are part of the air that we breathe and permeate our clinical care, research, education, quality improvement, and advocacy work. We look forward to meeting you and introducing you to our fabulous program.

 

 

Sara J. Whetstone, MD, MHS

Sara Whetstone, MD, MHS
Associate Professor
Residency Program Director
Interim Vice Chair of Equity, Inclusion and Structural Change
EMPOWUR Curricular Lead (OB/GYN)
UCSF Dept of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences

Biftu Mengesha, MD, MAS
Assistant Professor
Associate Director, Residency Training Program
Associate Director, Complex Family Planning Fellowship
Director, Innovating Education in Reproductive Health
Co-Director, Anti-Racism, Equity, Inclusion, and Structural Change (AEISC) in the SFGH Obstetrics Midwifery and Gynecology Division

 

In honor of Dia de Los Muertos, our residents created a very powerful and important altar to honor women who have died in childbirth across the globe. The altar entitled “A las madres que mueren al parir” was one of 9 large altars in this celebration of culture in the Mission. The altar was inspired by a similar homage to women in Mexico City and was displayed at the San Francisco Alamo Draft House.