Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship Program

2024 Recruitment Season:

ERAS Opens in December 2024 for

• Maternal Fetal Medicine fellow position for July 2026 

The MedStar Washington Hospital Center Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship is a comprehensive training program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The program is sponsored by the department of Ob/Gyn at both MedStar Washington Hospital Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

MedStar Washington Hospital Center (MWHC), where the majority of clinical rotations occur for the fellowship, is a 926-bed teaching hospital and proud member of MedStar Health. MWHC is the largest private not-for-profit hospital in the nation's capital and consistently ranks among the nation's top hospitals as recognized in U.S. News & World Report. We deliver over 3500 infants annually in our large Labor and Delivery suite, with 12 LDR rooms with neonatal resuscitation areas, 3 operating rooms, 9 triage beds, and 3 recovery rooms. Patients admitted with pregnancy complications receive care on our 23-bed antepartum/post-partum unit. Critically ill patients are managed in one of our seven medical/surgical ICUs. The 30-bed level three NICU admits over 900 neonates annually. Fellows also train in our separate Prenatal Diagnosis Center, where they gain skills in ultrasound, amniocentesis, and chorionic villus sampling.

MWHC's medical campus is shared with Children's National Medical Center (CNMC), with their vast team of Pediatric subspecialists. MWHC serves as for the primary regional delivery site for pregnancies with prenatally diagnosed complex fetal conditions and utilizes the resources of CNMC for training opportunities in fetal cardiology and fetal MRI. MFM fellows also rotate to Fetal Medicine Institute at CNMC for Genetic rotation. This unique relationship with CNMC and their immense research infrastructure has fostered many strong collaborative research efforts with MWHC MFM division and is available for interested fellows.

MedStar Georgetown University Hospital (MUGH) is a 400-bed teaching facility. In 2000, Georgetown University entered into a partnership with MedStar Health to improve clinical efficiency and increase the diversity of clinical experiences available to students. At MGUH, perinatal services are provided on the Labor and Delivery Unit (containing 2 Delivery/Operating Rooms, a 2-bed Recovery Room that can function as an Intensive Care Suite, 5 LDR rooms each with neonatal intensive care resuscitation room, 3 labor Rooms, 4 transition/subacute care or step-down high risk antepartum or postpartum rooms, and 1 triage area) and the Postpartum unit with 20 beds. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, located immediately adjacent to the delivery suite, features 22 Intensive, 12 Intermediate, and 10 Special Care neonatal beds. There is a separate Prenatal Diagnosis center at MGUH where fellows receive ultrasound training as well.

The Prenatal Diagnosis Center at MWHC and Prenatal Diagnostic and Ultrasound Center at MGUH are both accredited by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) and all MFM faculty at both sites are NTQR certified in first trimester nuchal translucency evaluation. A full-time genetic counselor is on staff at MWHC site.

MWHC is the primary site for clinical rotations. Fellows also rotate at MGUH and CNMC. The fellow's outpatient clinical experience includes High Risk continuity clinic, Ultrasound, Genetics, and Fetal Imaging (MRI and echocardiogram) rotations. All fellows participate in an inpatient surgical intensive care unit (SICU) rotation and two months on L and D unit during their fellowship. Training in chorionic villous sampling (CVS) and amniocentesis is available to fellows.

A total of 12 months of research occur primarily in 2nd and 3rd years; however, a 2-4 month block in the first year allows the fellow to obtain a mentor and initiate a study protocol. Research support is vast and includes MedStar Health Research Institute, recipient of the Clinical and Translational Science Award, with its diverse core research services. Additional research resources are available within the MedStar Penn Medical Laboratory (PML), where current research including multiplex assays of inflammatory cytokines, biomarkers, transcription factors, immunoassay of vasoactive factors and markers associated with oxidative stress and cardiovascular risk is ongoing. PML animal research facilities are also available on the MWHC campus. Our close proximity to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) facilitates research collaboration and allows many options for graduate level courses.

We also partner with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in a four-year combined MFM/Genetics fellowship. A position for the MFM/Genetics fellowship is available every other year (odd years).

Fellows completing our maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) fellowship program will have developed strong skills in the diagnosis and management of fetal disorders, extensive experience with the management of complex maternal medical conditions, and robust research skills to support them in their pursuit of a successful clinical or academic based career.

We have a robust ultrasound didactic schedule in collaboration with Georgetown University Hospital and Children’s National Medical Center, as well as hands-on ultrasound rotations spread throughout the fellowship training at both MedStar Washington Hospital Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

We have diversity in the patient population and pathology, which allows clinical experience in a challenging environment. Fellows get to provide prenatal care and deliver fetuses with congenital anomalies such as conjoined twins and meningomyeloceles. Third year fellows manage complex maternal and fetal cardiac conditions in their Special Mom and Special Baby continuity clinic.

The overall educational mission of the program is to ensure the graduate possesses the knowledge, skills, and professional attributes essential to be able to function as a consultant to obstetricians and gynecologists for women with complicated pregnancies. In addition, fellows will obtain skills which will allow them to function effectively in the arena of basic and clinical research in maternal fetal medicine.

The training objectives are based on the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) Guide to Learning Maternal-Fetal Medicine. At the completion of training, fellows should demonstrate competence at the level of a new practitioner in Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM).