Curriculum & Training

The Cedars-Sinai Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery, located in Los Angeles, California, is a 3-year program that provides a comprehensive educational experience with an integrated curriculum that incorporates a wide breath of clinical and surgical training for complex gynecological conditions, meets all AAGL FMIGS fellowship requirements for minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, and offers advanced training in simulation and mentored research.

We have a high-volume surgical program that includes 3 full-time MIGS faculty with diverse training backgrounds and unique areas of interest. This will provide the fellow with a balanced surgical experience in advanced hysteroscopy (including office hysteroscopy), laparoscopy, and robotics. To complement the MIGS surgical training, fellows will also rotate with faculty from our ACGME-accredited programs in colorectal surgery (CRS), general surgery (MIS), reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI), and female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS). Educational activities include M&M, Grand Rounds, MIGS conference (includes didactics and video coaching), multidisciplinary pelvic pain conference, multidisciplinary endometriosis conference, and journal clubs. The fellow will be expected to take MIGS practice call and ED call, but there will be NO obstetrics responsibilities.

There will be dedicated simulation training where the fellow will have access to the Cedars- Sinai Women’s Guild Simulation Center for Advanced Clinical Skills, a state-of-the-art Society of Simulation in Healthcare (SSH)-accredited simulation center. Fellows will have the opportunity to work closely with a multi-disciplinary simulation team led by the Director of the Simulation Center, Russell Metcalfe-Smith, to develop medical and surgical simulation projects. They will also have the opportunity to participate on the Simulation Center Education and Research committees. As part of the simulation curriculum, the fellow will obtain certification as a Healthcare Simulation Educator and have the opportunity to complete a master’s degree in healthcare simulation. The fellow will also gain simulation and education experience through teaching medical students and residents both in the clinical setting and during formalized educational settings such as Foundations of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS), robotic simulation, and other programs at the simulation center.

The fellow will have a total of 12 months of dedicated time for research which will be divided into 4-week blocks over 3 years, with one day per week for research and simulation. The fellow will be required to complete an independent research project to be submitted for presentation at a national meeting and for publication. Research support includes assignment of a research mentor, training in clinical and translational research through the Cedars- Sinai Clinical Scholar’s program, and access to research resources such as biostatisticians, REDCap training, and other research cores.