Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship Program Structure
Our Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) Fellowship Program's academic year is divided into 13 four-week blocks. Fellows rotate through:
- Parkland Health High-Risk Pregnancy Unit: 7A is the 36-bed inpatient, high-risk pregnancy unit at Parkland. The fellow is expected to round on the antepartum service with the residents and run the weekly antepartum conference.
- Parkland Labor and Delivery/Extended Care Unit: While rotating on L&D and the ECU, the fellow is expected to be a resource for the upper-level residents in the management of the highest acuity patients on the labor floor.
- Parkland Ultrasound: Fellows develop skills in both scanning and image interpretation in this busy unit that performs more than 35,000 ultrasounds per year. Time in pediatric cardiology is integrated into this rotation.
- UT Southwestern Maternal-Fetal Medicine Clinics: The fellows perform outpatient consultations on complex maternal patients and enhance their ultrasound diagnostic skills in the main campus (Dallas) and Plano UT Southwestern MFM clinics. In 2025, these clinics performed nearly 10,000 ultrasounds and 40 chorionic villus samplings.
- Parkland Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU): Our MFM fellows are integrated into the MICU rounding team and care for any obstetrical patients in the unit. They are responsible for participating in the education of residents through formal didactics.
- Research: The fellows have a minimum of 13 blocks of protected research time with the potential for a maximum of 15, based on the flexible use of two blocks allowed for electives.
- Genetics: The fellows have a minimum of two blocks of protected time in genetics to rotate with our genetic counseling team and to complete the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM)-sponsored Genetics course for MFM fellows.
Mentorship
Fellows are mentored throughout the research process and their clinical training.
MFM faculty have extensive experience in the conditions and complications associated with high-risk pregnancies.
Fellows also have access to interdisciplinary mentorship from faculty specializing in genetics, neonatology, pathology, radiology, critical care, and other fields.
Sample Rotation Schedule
| Fellowship Year | 7A High Risk (1) | L&D / ECU (2) | Ultrasound (3) | UTSW MFM (4) | MICU (5) | Research (6) | Genetics (7) | TOTALS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MFM - 1 | 3 blocks | 3 blocks | 3 blocks | 0 blocks | 1 block | 3 blocks | 0 blocks | 13 |
| MFM - 2 | 2 blocks | 1 block | 2 blocks | 3 blocks | 0 blocks | 5 blocks | 0 blocks | 13 |
| MFM - 3 | 1 block | 1 block | 1 block | 1 block | 0 blocks | 7 blocks | 2 blocks | 13 |
| TOTALS | 6 blocks | 5 blocks | 6 blocks | 4 blocks | 1 block | 15 blocks | 2 blocks | 39 |
Sample Monthly Conference Schedule
- Mondays: Antepartum conference
- Tuesdays: Placenta meeting (monthly)
- Wednesdays: Grand rounds, L&D conference, OB conference, MFM Division meeting, FETAL conference (monthly), basic science lecture (monthly), fetal cardiology conference (monthly), OB anesthesia (monthly)
- Thursdays: Infectious Disease Didactics
- Fridays: Didactic lecture, ultrasound conference (every other week)