Fetal Care and Surgical Center
SU 508M.7
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
This advanced clinical clerkship offers students the rare opportunity to participate in the diagnosis, counseling, and management of complex fetal conditions that may require surgical intervention. Students will become integral members of a multidisciplinary care team including fellows, genetic counselors, nurses, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, neonatologists, and fetal surgeons gaining exposure to the full continuum of fetal and maternal care.
What makes this experience unique is the dual nature of our patients: the fetus, or in many cases multiple fetuses, as the primary patient(s), the care givers, and the surrounding family as central partners in care. Unlike most specialties, students will confront the challenge of caring for a patient who cannot be directly examined history and physical examination cannot be performed on the fetus. Instead, students will learn to rely on advanced imaging, diagnostic testing, and collaborative interpretation to guide clinical decision-making. This integration of highly specialized maternal-fetal care with family-centered counseling provides a distinctive and invaluable learning experience.
Clerkship activities include comprehensive patient evaluations, participation in prenatal consultations, and operative room experience in fetal surgeries. Students will also join structured educational activities, such as fetal intervention lectures, morbidity and mortality conferences, multidisciplinary case series reviews, and journal clubs. Surgical exposure may include procedures twin–twin transfusion syndrome, open spina bifida repair, chest and bladder drain placements and other complex fetal anomalies.
Not Available for Cross Registration
