Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery Fellowship Program
The Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery Fellowship Program is accredited with The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
Trainees per year: one
Fellowship length: three years
Salary: Subject to annual change, PGY5 $80,328.16, PGY6 $84,622.03, PGY7 $87,784.97
Other covered expenses: Travel to the annual AUGS meeting, participation in AUGS fellows' research retreat, and other division-approved travel to give presentations; medical license and DEA; stipend for books and miscellaneous items; and core required courses, university fees and some electives for required 2-year Human Investigations Program (HIP) certification.
Benefits: 4 weeks of vacation per year, 15 sick days per year. OHSU benefits package including medical and dental insurance along with retirement funding and malpractice coverage. Medical, dental, and vision coverage begins on day one of fellowship. No in-house call.
Year program began: 1995
Number of graduates: 17
Activities of graduates:
- Academic medicine
- Community clinical practice
- Managed Health care system
Goals
The goal of our fellowship is to produce academic-equipped physicians in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery, and to provide training with the breadth and depth of clinical and scientific knowledge, research and quality improvement that allows for an URPS career.
The strengths of this program include:
- Range of operative experience including robotic, straight stick, vaginal, abdominal with great volume in each.
- Collaborative relationship with faculty at multiple practice sites including academic, HMO and private practice
- Clinical exposure to the complete battery of diagnostic and therapeutic options for women with pelvic floor disorders
- Multidisciplinary environment with faculty in urology, colon and rectal surgery, gastroenterology, and physical therapy
- Requirement to participate in Human Investigations Program: This program is a 2-year, NIH-sponsored, clinical research curriculum and can be continued to obtain a Master's degree in clinical research during fellowship.
Clinical
Our clinical practice offers a full spectrum of female pelvic medicine services at OHSU's Center for Women's Health, Kaiser and Legacy practice sites. Fellows interact with attending physicians at OHSU and Kaiser Permanente Northwest, both in the outpatient clinical setting and in the operating room. Additionally, there are operative experiences at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital with our adjunct faculty members. Fellows perform the majority of urodynamic studies in conjunction with the Urogynecology nurse. We have a pelvic floor dysfunction program that is coordinated through the Urogynecology division but involves additional consultants in urology, colorectal surgery, gastroenterology, and physical therapy. Finally, we perform our own translabial/transperineal pelvic floor ultrasound (including 3D/4D), endoanal ultrasonography (3D/4D), and complete pelvic floor neurophysiologic testing.
Education
Fellowship is expected to be a combination of guided and self-taught education. Fellows are expected to read appropriate texts, journals, and listen to webinars pertaining to the field of female pelvic medicine and remain current with the published literature.
Opportunities for group learning:
- Journal club
- Weekly Department Grand rounds
- Monthly Research meetings and didactic seminars
- Weekly surgical cases pre-operative review in conjunction with faculty, the rotating third year Ob/Gyn resident, and medical student
The residency at OHSU has a 2-month third year rotation in Urogynecology. This rotation includes both clinical and operative time with the division. Involvement in resident and medical student education is expected as part of the fellowship experience.
Research
Per ABOG requirements, a fellow must complete a thesis project. Our expectation includes presenting and defending this project with a publication ready manuscript prior to graduation. The width and breadth of both clinical and basic science projects that are currently underway in our division gives our fellows the opportunity to become involved in many areas. We also encourage fellows to pursue and develop their own areas of interest and are skilled at creating a team of support. Current areas of faculty interest include the urinary microbiome, racial and ethnic health disparities, epidemiology of pelvic floor dysfunction, and pelvic floor injury. Fellows will also be expected to complete a 2-year course in Human Investigations (NIH K-30 sponsored course) to aid in their understanding of research and literature review. The Women’s Health Research Unit of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is available to provide collaborative assistance: statistics; regulatory; recruitment; and space for research visits.
Thank you for your interest in OHSU's fellowship in Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery. All applications are accepted via ERAS, annually.
Important dates
Application deadline: Monday, January 22nd, 2024 at 5pm Pacific Standard Time
Interview Date: Friday, May 3rd, 2024, times tbd, Pacific Standard Time
Position Start Date: Thursday, August 1st, 2025 Pacific Standard Time
All required residency education for entry into ACGME-accredited fellowship programs must be completed in an ACGME-accredited residency program, or in an RCPSC-accredited or CFPC-accredited program located in Canada.
Applicant must be legally able to work in the U.S., or eligible to obtain work authorization.
CREOG scores are not required. A complete application must include:
- ERAS application
- CV
- Official transcripts
- MSPE (Dean's letter)
- Personal statement
- Photo
- 3 letters of recommendation
- USMLE/COMLEX score reports
- ECFMG (if visa sponsorship is required)
Application Form and Instructions
The Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery Fellowship Program is accepting applications for the 2025 cohort via ERAS.
Program Director
Sara Cichowski, M.D.
Dr. Sara Cichowski, M.D., Associate Professor and Program Director, completed her FPMRS fellowship at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Upon graduation, she accepted a faculty position there and served as FPMRS Associate Fellowship Director beginning in 2015. She joined OHSU in July 2019. Prior to fellowship, she served as department chair of Kijabe Hospital, Kenya through World Medical Mission.
Assistant Program Director
W. Thomas Gregory, M.D.
Dr. Gregory completed his obstetrics and gynecology residency training at OHSU. He then entered a private practice in Ob/Gyn for one year prior to returning to OHSU for fellowship training in Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, which he completed in June 2001. He completed a Women's Reproductive Health Research Career Development grant. He is now the Principal Investigator on a five -year NIH (NICHD) grant investigating pelvic floor nerve and muscle injury associated with pregnancy and childbirth. Dr. Gregory spends 50% time in research and 50% in clinical practice.
Additional Program Faculty
S. Renee Edwards, M.D., M.B.A.
Dr. Edwards completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency training at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago where she remained for her fellowship in Urogynecology under the direction of Drs. Linda Brubaker and Dee Fenner. She joined the faculty at Oregon Health & Science University in 1999 after 4 years of practice in Chicago. She is the Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of OHSU and an associate professor in obstetrics and gynecology. She maintains a clinical practice in Urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery along with her administrative responsibilities.
Jennifer Thompson, M.D.
Dr. Thompson completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at Indiana University. She completed her FPMRS fellowship at University of New Mexico after taking a year long break. During that time, she pursued volunteer work in global health and training community health workers. Dr. Thompson is the Kaiser Permanente Northwest FPMRS Site Director.
Ian Fields, M.D., M.C.R.
Dr. Fields is a native of El Paso, Texas. He completed his undergraduate, medical school, and residency training in Chicago, Illinois. He also worked as a molecular and cell biology researcher for five years prior to matriculating into medical school in 2009. He completed a fellowship in the Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery and received a Master of Clinical Research degree from OHSU in 2020. His research interest focuses on changes in the urinary microbiome and their association with lower urinary tract symptoms.
Blake Osmundsen, M.D.
Dr. Osmundsen finished his residency in OB/GYN at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA in 1991. He has focused his practice on pelvic floor reconstructive surgery since 1995, and has been instrumental in bringing minimally invasive pelvic floor reconstruction with laparoscopy to Portland. Dr. Osmundsen completed his Masters in Clinical Research and is presently studying the interaction effects of prolapse on incontinence in surgical management. He is in private practice and offers surgical volume for the fellowship at Legacy Hospital.
Lauren Nicola-Ducey, M.D.
Expected date of graduation: 08/2024
Rosa Carbonell, M.D.
Expected date of graduation: 07/2025
Kate Renkosiak, M.D.
Expected date of graduation: 07/2026
Alumni
Javier Gonzalez, M.D.
Date of graduation: 07/2023
Meagan Cramer, M.D.
Date of graduation: 07/2022
Alaina Bennett, M.D.
Date of graduation: 07/2021
Ian Fields, M.D., M.C.R.
Date of graduation: 07/2020
Current Practice: OHSU
Jen Lillemon, M.D.
Date of graduation: 06/2019
Current Practice: St. Luke's Hospital, Boise, Idaho
Kimberly Kenne, M.D.
Date of graduation: 06/2018
Current Practice: academic faculty, University of Iowa
Camille Calderwood, M.D.
Date of graduation: 08/2017
Current Practice: academic faculty, Saint Joseph Hospital
Jameca Price, M.D.
Date of graduation: 06/2016
Current Practice: academic faculty, University of Oklahoma
Faisal Aslam, M.D.
Date of graduation: 06/2015
Current Practice: clinical private practice
Kerrie Adams, M.D.
Date of graduation: 06/2013
Current Practice:
Rahel Nardos, M.D.
Date of graduation: 06/2011
Current Practice: Kaiser clinical practice, OHSU academic faculty research and international women's health
Virginia G. King, M.D.
Date of graduation: 06/2010
Current practice: clinical private practice
Mary Anna Denman, M.D.
Date of graduation: 06/2008
Current practice: academic faculty, Oregon Health & Science University
Sarah Hamilton Boyles, M.D.
Date of graduation: 06/2006
Current practice: clinical private practice
Chiara Ghetti, M.D.
Date of graduation: 07/2004
Current practice: academic faculty, University of Pittsburgh, Magee-Women's Hospital
Thomas Gregory, M.D.
Date of graduation: 06/2001
Current practice: academic faculty, Oregon Health & Science University
Lesley Otto, M.D.
Date of graduation: 06/1999
Current practice: clinical private practice
Ambre Olsen, M.D.
Date of graduation: 08/1996
Current practice: clinical private practice
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Contact us
To contact the fellowship program, please email obgynfellowship@ohsu.edu with your subspecialty in the subject line.
