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Chairman's Welcome |
 James E. Ferguson, M.D.Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology |
The University of Kentucky College of Medicine accepted its first class in 1960. The Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology was founded about two years later, making it a relatively young department when compared to others across
the nation, particularly among "flagship" state universities. Dr. John W. Greene, Jr., was professor and chair of
the department for the first 27 years. He retired as chair in June of 1990, and now serves in an emeritus capacity.
During these years, the Department developed an excellent reputation for teaching, patient care, and research.
This continued under the direction of the next chair, Frank Miller, MD, who was chair from 1990 to 1998, and who
stepped down to become President of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists from 1999-2000. Dr.
Miller remains an active and distinguished member of our department's maternal-fetal medicine faculty. Berry
Campbell, M.D., was chair from 1999 to 2001. James E. Ferguson, M.D. was named chair of the department in mid-2002,
from his post as Director of Maternal-Fetal-Medicine at the University of Virginia.
The department is of moderate size for obstetrics and gynecology. It is extremely well balanced with subspecialty divisions of gynecologic oncology, reproductive endocrinology, and maternal-fetal medicine, as well as a division of general obstetrics and gynecology. The gynecologic oncology division enjoys a national and international reputation for excellence in teaching, patient care, and research. Its fellowship is highly competitive and outstanding fellows are selected each year. The faculty are excellent clinicians and researchers. The division receives funding from federal, University, and private grants and is recognized as innovative in patient care and research. The reproductive endocrinology division consists of three board-certified sub-specialists and one basic science faculty. This division enjoys significant grant support for research in several aspects of reproductive endocrinology and infertility. The maternal-fetal medicine division, the newest division in the department, has three clinical faculty members. The division, although young, has members actively engaged in sponsored research. The department is responsible for patient care throughout central, eastern, and south-central Kentucky. We are the primary referral center for high-risk obstetrics, gynecologic oncology, infertility, and endocrine disorders for this entire region. The department regularly conducts post-graduate education courses throughout the region as well as specialty clinics in the Area Health Education Centers. Our grand rounds features local and national experts. Former residents and faculty have formed the “John W. Greene, Jr., Gynecologic Society,” an educational organization with meetings every 18 months in the spring and alternatively in the fall, usually here in Lexington. Former residents and faculty look forward to this opportunity to renew acquaintances and enjoy an outstanding educational program. The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is highly regarded for excellence in teaching. We have received the Department of Excellence Award for outstanding dedication to teaching often in the past few years. This award is given by the students to one clinical department each year. In addition, Ob-Gyn faculty members have been selected as the medical center's Outstanding Clinical Teachers (by the third-year medical students), and our residents have been awarded Outstanding Resident Teaching Awards, several times in the recent past. For a program to be this highly regarded by medical students, the residents and fellows must also be actively involved in teaching. The Medical Center is growing. The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology occupies a new, state-of-the-art, 40,000 square foot labor/delivery/recovery area, one of the most modern labor/delivery/recovery areas in the country. The expansion and modernization of the departmental facilities allows us to offer our broad range of services to a greater number of Kentuckians, as well as patients from other states. We are excited about the department and the prospects for the future. We believe once you visit our facilities and meet our people, you will agree that we will soon be one of the premier Obstetrics and Gynecology Departments in the country. |
