Residency

A group of residents pose for a photo together

Learn about the OBGYN residency program and find out how to apply.

Message from our Director

A warm welcome and my gratitude for your interest in the Obstetrics and Gynecology residency training program at the University of Illinois College of Medicine! Since 1941, our program has trained diverse, talented, and motivated OBGYN residents, an amazing legacy that I am humbled to be entrusted to continue. Our graduates not only serve the needs of the great state of Illinois but have gone on to practice all over the world. We strive to train our residents in evidence-based medicine while prioritizing a compassionate, equity-based, patient-centered care model. These values make UIC and our department leaders in providing high-quality care to all patients, especially the historically and currently most marginalized within our city and beyond. Additionally, our residents and faculty are committed to health equity, advocacy, and comprehensive reproductive health care, including access to safe abortion and contraception care. Through rotations at our home academic hospital (University of Illinois Hospital [UIH]), a Level 1 Trauma Center (Advocate Christ Medical Center [ACMC]), and community hospitals (Little Company of Mary [LCOM] and Swedish Covenant), our trainees gain invaluable experiences to inform a successful career in academic or private generalist OBGYN practice, or, for those seeking additional post-residency training, ready them for competitive fellowship positions.

While the most imperative facet in preparing a skilled OBGYN is high-quality clinical education, we also offer a rigorous curriculum that includes comprehensive simulation activities, interactive didactics, certifying-exam preparation, and a research requirement. Residents can practice obstetric, laparoscopic, and other gynecologic skills at the Women of Steel Simulation Center, located directly in the OBGYN department. Our robotics curriculum and Surgical Innovation and Training Laboratory prepare each resident for robotic surgery certification and ensure readiness for the Essentials in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (EMIGS) examination. Finally, under the leadership of our research faculty, each resident in our program completes at least one research project. Our department is incredibly proud of our trainees’ body of work, with many UIC OBGYN graduates having presented in peer-reviewed regional, national, and international forums. We are committed to continuing this ascending pathway.

Our program’s primary goal is to prepare our graduates for board certification in general obstetrics and gynecology, allowing readiness for clinical practice in any environment. However, we are also committed to supporting graduates to attend fellowship training and have a long history of successful matches. Additionally, we recognize that many of our graduates desire careers in academic medicine and place an emphasis on training residents as our colleagues in education, both of more junior residents and our medical students.

We pride ourselves on recruiting energetic, innovative, and diverse residents and faculty. The candidates who thrive at UIC share our values of diversity, adaptability, excellence, and collaboration. These values permeate our clinical care, research, education, quality improvement, and advocacy work. As a department and institution, we are consciously working to address disparities of care in our larger community and the bias and discrimination pervasive throughout academic medicine.

As program director, I truly view my role as one of advocate and partner with our residents, challenging them to reach their greatest potential while actively providing support as they navigate the unparalleled journey that is training to become an OBGYN. The strides it takes to grow and develop into an OBGYN can be both exhilarating and daunting — it is my vision that our program strikes the right balance of thoughtful encouragement and intellectual stimulation to nurture learners into skilled, compassionate, and competent future colleagues. I seek to be invested, flexible, and available, and value the input of our residents in the ever-changing landscape of individualized education and patient care. Our program is fortunate to have an amazing leadership team that supports my work, along with a department of outstanding residents and faculty that share in the educational mission.

I encourage you to browse further for more information on our program and department, and again, welcome to UIC-OBGYN!

Application Process

Seven first-year categorical positions are offered each academic year. All interviews and interview-related social events are conducted virtually.

Our program adheres to the APGO Right Resident, Right Program, Ready Day One Application and Interview Standards. Our institution participates in Program Signaling and encourages you to indicate your interest via this tool.

General UIC OBGYN residency application guidelines:

In alignment with the national changes to OBGYN applications starting in the 2024-2025 cycle, we only accept applications via ResidencyCAS.
We will not accept any supplementary material outside of ResidencyCAS.
We accept only J-1 and J-2 visas.
We require successful completion of the USMLE Step I and II examinations for all applicants, with the report available by the date applications open for review by programs.
At this time, we are unable to offer an interview to applicants that have completed any training in a categorical residency position in the US in a specialty shorter than five years in duration (i.e., will not have funding for the full four years of OBGYN training). We can accept applicants who are completing a transitional year or are in their first year of a five-or-more year duration residency.
We require four letters of recommendation, one of which must follow the Standardized Letter of Evaluation (SLOE) format. There are no requirements about who should write letters, although we encourage you to consider the following guidance to best support your application:
- Letter writers should be those that can speak most highly about your strengths and why you will make a skilled resident in OBGYN
- Non-OBGYN/OBGYN subspecialty writers should be limited to ideally no more than one
- A letter or SLOE from the OBGYN leadership of your home institution (Chair, Clerkship Director, Residency or Fellowship Program Director, Vice Chair for Education, etc), individually or jointly written is highly recommended

All interviews will be offered virtually.

Ryan Residency Training Program

UIC is an active Ryan Program. This program is a national initiative to integrate and enhance family planning training for OB/GYN residents. The UIC Ryan Program incorporates structured weekly didactics, journal club, and hands-on training for first and second trimester abortion care, complex contraception and miscarriage management. This rotation is consistently rated highly by our residents.

Ryan Program Director:
Erica Hinz, MD, MPH, FACOG