Medical Education

Reproductive Health

The Scholarly Concentration in Reproductive Health prepares graduates to promote and advance reproductive health through patient care, education, research, and advocacy.

Concentration Directors

Daria Szkwarko, DO, MPH
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine
Email:  Szkwarkd@gmail.com
Phone:  401-729-2238
Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, 111 Brewster St, Pawtucket, RI 02860 

Christine Brousseau, MD
Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinician Educator
Email:  e_christine_brousseau@brown.edu
Phone: 401-489-4579

Overview

Reproductive rights and freedom are key determinants of health and are highly influenced by individuals' roles in society. In the U.S. and abroad, reproductive health is threatened by limited access to effective contraception, timely diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, safe abortion, skilled maternity care, and infertility treatments.


The purpose of the Reproductive Health scholarly concentration is to prepare graduates to promote and advance reproductive health through patient care, education, research, and advocacy. Research has documented the need for comprehensive reproductive health education in U.S. medical schools. Few schools adequately address issues surrounding abortion, contraception, adolescent pregnancy and parenting, or causes and consequences of infertility. Effective reproductive health care also requires skilled history taking, patient education and counseling. Understanding of non-biological determinants of health and illness, including economic, psychological, social, and cultural factors, is critical to ensuring quality reproductive health care for women. Physicians and other health professionals have a key role as advocates in protecting reproductive health, especially for underserved and/or vulnerable populations (including adolescents, incarcerated people, immigrants and refugees, those with disabilities, minorities, and LGBTQ individuals).

By graduation, students will be able to:

  1. Provide patient-centered counseling for reproductive health issues, such as unwanted pregnancy and abortion, contraception (including emergency contraception, prenatal health, breastfeeding, and STI prevention).
  2. Apply advanced knowledge in one or more of the following reproductive health content areas to care of patients: Human sexuality, contraception, abortion, pregnancy and birth, postnatal care and breastfeeding, sexual health, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual abuse, gender-based violence, infertility, cervical cancer/HPV, breast cancer, and adolescent reproductive health.
  3. Discuss the effects of gender inequality on reproductive health, rights, and freedom.
  4. Describe legal and other restrictions on access to reproductive health services and their effects on individual and public health, especially for vulnerable populations.
  5. Apply principles of medical ethics to resolve dilemmas regarding assisted reproductive technologies, limited access to resources, and conflicts between providers' beliefs and patient autonomy in reproductive health.
  6. Recognize the physician's role in protecting and advocating for reproductive health.

For each learning objective, mastery will be evaluated as follows:

  1. Each student will participate in a clinical elective involving reproductive health in the 3rd or 4th year.
  2. During the 2nd year, students will attend the reproductive health seminar series.
  3. During the 2nd year, each student will write a position paper on a reproductive health issue, addressing gender inequality, legal, and/or public health issues that affect reproductive health.
  4. Each student will design, implement, evaluate, and present a concentration project involving research, education, or advocacy related to reproductive health.
  • Students will identify a faculty advisor to mentor their project activities and will submit a project plan to be approved by the concentration directors.
  • Students will submit annual written reports describing progress on their concentration project.
  • Students are encouraged to present their projects at national conferences in their field of study.
  • Students will prepare a portfolio of their concentration work including their final project for a review committee of reproductive health professionals. 
  • Students will present their projects to the concentration faculty and students.

 

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Coursework 
  • Attend seminar series (4-5/semester)

 

 x

 x

 x
  • Write position paper on reproductive health issue (Fall)

 

 x

 

 
  • Participate in one reproductive health clinical elective

 

 

 x

 x

Concentration Project 
  • Identify faculty mentor (Fall)

 x

 

 

 
  • Establish concentration project with faculty mentor and apply for summer research assistantship (Winter)

 

 x

 

 

 
  • Summer Research Assistantship

 x

 

 

 
  • Project progress reports

 

 x

 x

 x
  • Present project at national meeting

 

 x

x

 x
  • Submit report for publication (if applicable)

 

 

 x

 x
  • Complete Reproductive Health Portfolio

 

 

 

 x
  • Present final project to concentration faculty and students

 

 

 

 x

Preclinical

  • BIOL 6650: Medical Students Outreach to Mothers to Be (MOMS)
  • BIOL 6657:  Sexual Health Elective
  • BIOL 6508: Gender and Sexuality in Healthcare: Caring for All Patients
  • BIOL 6525: Sex Ed by Brown Med
  • BIOL 6533: Sex- and Gender-based Medicine: An Overview
  • BIOL 6693: Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Advocate Training

View Pre-clinical Elective Descriptions

Clinical

  • Breast Disease
  • Women’s Mental Health Elective
  • Subinternship in Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery
  • Subinternship in Gynecologic Oncology and Pelvic Surgery
  • Intro to Women's Diagnostic Imaging
  • Subinternship in Maternal Fetal Medicine
  • Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
  • Subinternship in Women's Emergency Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Gynecologic and Breast Pathology
  • Clinical Cancer Genetics
  • Complex Family Planning
  • Partner access to emergency contraception
  • High-risk sexual behaviors among female sex workers in Shanghai, China
  • Improving prenatal patient education using Electronic Medical Record prompts
  • Prenatal SSRI exposure effects on placental SERT expression
  • Quality of care after sexual assault
  • Barriers to breast cancer screening and genetic testing for Latina women
  • Birth experiences of Karen refugees in Buffalo, NY
  • Family medicine residents’ preparation to care for women with unintended pregnancy
  • Exploring the implications of fetal origins of postnatal disease for practitioners and patients

The scholarly concentration will be limited to 4-6 medical students per year. 

Family Medicine

  • Susanna Magee, MD, MPH:  maternal child health, prenatal care
  • Mary Beth Sutter, MD: FM-OB, opiate use disorder in pregnancy
  • Andrea Arena, MD: reproductive health, family planning, 
  • Carolyn Pearce, MD, MPH: FM-OB, OB point of care ultrasound
  • Odinaka Anyanwu, MD: FM-OB, birth equity in obstetrics

Internal Medicine

  • Susan Cu-Uvin MD: infectious diseases, HIV infection, international health
  • Christine Duffy, MD: sexuality, cancer survivors
  • Joseph Harwell MD: infectious diseases, HIV infection, international health
  • Kelly McGarry, MD: women's health, medical education

OB/GYN

  • Rebecca Allen, MD, MPH: gynecology, family planning
  • Christine Brousseau, MD:  health of incarcerated women
  • Sarah Fox, MD: pelvic pain
  • Erica Hardy, MD:  reproductive infectious diseases

Pediatrics

  • Michelle Forcier, MD: adolescent health, LGBTQ health

The concentration has received a gift from Ann Glazer '80 and Barkley Stuart '81 to support student projects and travel.