OBS & Gynae

Department Introduction:

Obstetrics and gynecology is a medical/surgical specialty concerned with the care of women from pregnancy until after delivery and with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the female reproductive tract.

The medical care of pregnant women (Obstetrics) and of female genital diseases (gynecology) developed along different historical paths. Obstetrics had for a long time been the province of female midwives, but in the 17th century, European physicians began to attend on normal deliveries of royal and aristocratic families; from this beginning, the practice grew and spread to the middle classes.

By the early 19th century, obstetrics had become established as a recognized medical discipline in Europe and the United States. In the 20th century, obstetrics developed chiefly in the areas of fertility control and the promotion of healthy births. The prenatal care and instruction of pregnant mothers to reduce birth defects and problem deliveries was introduced about 1900 and was there-after rapidly adopted throughout the world. The obstetrician’s main tasks are to diagnose and bring a woman through pregnancy, deliver her child, and give the new mother adequate postnatal care.

Gynecology as a branch of medicine dates back to Greco-Roman civilization, if not earlier. In the early and mid-19th century, physicians became able to successfully perform a limited variety of surgical operations on the ovaries and uterus. The American surgeon James Marion Sims and other pioneers of operative gynecology also had to combat the violent prejudice of the public against any exposure or examination of the female sexual organs. The two great advances that finally overcame such opposition and made gynecologic surgery generally available were the use of anesthesia and antiseptic methods. The separate specialty of gynecology had become fairly well established by 1880; its union with the specialty of obstetrics, arising from an overlap of natural concerns, began late in the century and has continued to the present day.

The modern practice of gynecology requires skill in pelvic surgery; a knowledge of female urologic conditions, because the symptoms of diseases of the urinary tract and the genital tract are often similar; and skill in dealing with the minor psychiatric problems that often arise among gynecologic patients.

Aims:

The Obstetrics & Gynaecology rotation is designed to develop and consolidate the knowledge, skills and attitudes and to achieve clinical competence in managing common and important clinical problems that women may present with within the discipline of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Course Objectives:

By the end of the course in Obstetrics & Gynecology, an MBBS graduate should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate the ability to assess and manage common and important problems which women will present within the discipline of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
  2. Demonstrate the ability to take an obstetrical, gynaecological and sexual history.
  • Develop a working differential diagnosis and management plan.
  1. Develop plans for investigation and interpret these investigations
  2. Understand and explain the risks and benefits of investigations and treatments.

Teaching Methodology:

To achieve the above objectives following teaching methods are to be used:

  • Clinical Rotation in 80-bedded Obstetrics & Gynecology ward in small groups to promote active learning in 4th and 5th
  • It includes
  • Bed side teaching
  1. History taking
  2. Examination
  • Simulations:
  1. Pelvic models
  2. Surgical Instruments
  • Birthing Manikins

A latest state-of-art Clinical Skills’ lab is being introduced at the 3rd Year level to enhance the competency for acquiring relevant clinical skills.