One of our physicians, Catherine Wheatley, MD, was recognized at the 2019 COM Faculty Recognition Ceremony. Dr. Wheatley received her medical degree from Wayne State followed by an OB/GYN residency at Indiana University. The UIC Department of OB/GYN was very fortunate to recruit Dr. Wheatley in May 2017.
Shortly after joining the UIC Department, it became clear that Dr. Wheatley showed promise in developing her leadership skills. She was appointed the inaugural Medical Director for Obstetrics Emergency Room (OBER) Services, with the initial goals of developing the clinical service and OBER residency curriculum. Dr. Wheatley embraced the opportunity and actively participated in the design of the new OBER unit which should open its doors in spring 2021. She worked with hospital administration to optimize metrics such as “time to triage” and “time to provider” with an overarching goal of improving OBER quality of care and patient, staff, nursing and provider satisfaction.
In addition to her clinical service leadership role, Dr. Wheatley is passionate about teaching medical student and residents. In June 2018, Dr. Wheatley received the CREOG Award for excellence in resident education, as nominated by the OB/GYN residents. In July 2018, she was appointed Director of OBGYN Selectives/Electives for the fourth year medical students; and she continues to be actively involved in the simulation-based curriculum for medication students and OB/GYN Boot Camp for 4th year medical students entering an OB/GYN residency program.
In summary, Dr. Wheatley possesses the drive and passion to make a positive difference to the lives of pregnant women in our community through her clinical service and leadership roles. She is truly a “rising star” in our Department of OB/GYN.