Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine is pleased to provide a unique opportunity for two aspiring leaders to pursue a career in Obstetric Anesthesiology. Our ACGME-accredited fellowship program, which has continuously received accreditation since 2016, has been designated a SOAP Center of Excellence since its inception in 2018. With over 3,600 deliveries per year, a 32% cesarean delivery rate, and an epidural rate exceeding 85%, our fellows will be exposed to a diverse range of obstetric anesthesia cases, providing them with ample hands-on experience.
Letter from the Director
We greatly appreciate your interest in our Obstetric Anesthesiology fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. We know physicians in the world of obstetric anesthesia have very diverse passions, and so we pride ourselves in providing a flexible training experience that meets the unique goals of each fellow without compromising high quality education in all areas. With team members that specialize in research, education, quality improvement, and clinical practice, we provide strong mentors and opportunities in whatever our fellows find fulfillment in. I trust that by joining our team, you will finish fellowship confident and prepared to guide your career in any direction you wish. We are a very accessible team, so please reach out to us with any questions about our program.
Danish Jaffer, MD
Fellowship Program Director
Fellowship Experience
L&D OB Anesthesia (7 months)
This rotation is spread throughout the fellowship year and includes day shifts on L&D as well as one overnight call shift per week.
Scholarly Time (3 months)
Scholarly time is spread throughout the year and averages out to two days a week. This is personal time allotted to work on scholarly activity such as research projects, administrative duties, or educational activities.
Maternal Fetal Medicine (2 weeks)
Maternal fetal medicine is a two-week rotation that includes experience in antepartum fetal testing and high-risk antepartum care.
Neonatology (2 weeks)
Neonatology is a two-week rotation where you will partner with neonatologists in our extraordinary NICU. You will also complete a neonatal resuscitation program to obtain NRP certification.
General Anesthesia (2 weeks)
You will spend two weeks working in the main OR with another anesthesia faculty. This will allow you to then moonlight on your non-clinical days or weekends after meeting credentialing criteria.
Elective (2 weeks)
Fellows schedule this elective time to pursue educational or academic interests related to their unique career goals.
Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring Certification Program
Fellows will complete a training program covering maternal-fetal oxygenation, fetal heart rate auscultation, contraction palpation, electronic monitoring instrumentation, and tracing analysis and interpretation.
Neonatal Resuscitation Program
Fellows will participate in NRP training and receive their certification during their neonatology rotation.
Fellow Education and Didactics (FED) Intensive
This program is designed to provide fellows with a general overview of common obstetric anesthesia topics and an introduction to our obstetric anesthesia faculty. The course encompasses the first quarter of your fellowship year though many of the sessions will be completed during the first four-weeks.
Fellow Education and Didactics (FED) Advanced
The FED Advanced program is completed during the second, third and fourth quarter of the year. This program covers more advanced topics in obstetric anesthesiology.
Anesthesiology Subspecialty Fellow Education
This program was designed to encourage networking between the subspecialty anesthesia fellowships at Washington University. They are joint educational sessions focused on career development, research study design, budgeting, and statistics.
Anesthesiology Grand Rounds
Nationally recognized experts present a wide range of topics in the areas relevant to anesthesiology, critical care, and pain management. This conference is held every Wednesday at 6:45 AM. Speakers are drawn from the Washington University School of Medicine faculty and other academic centers nationally and internationally. Visiting faculty eat lunch with our trainees while on campus, providing time for clinical and scientific discussion in a less-formal setting.
Morbidity and Mortality Conference
This conference is held once a month in place of Grand Rounds. Cases in which there was significant morbidity, mortality, or the potential for morbidity and or mortality are presented by senior residents. Discussion focuses on clinical case management as well as addressing the systems issues that may have contributed to the adverse event.
C. R. Stephen Lectureship
The Annual C. R. Stephen Lectureship is named for the first Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at Washington University; it recognizes distinguished leaders in the field of medicine. Speakers are physicians-scientists chosen for their contributions in areas of interest to anesthesiologists. This lecture attracts physicians, fellows, residents, and scientists from multiple disciplines in the medical community.
SOAP Virtual Grand Rounds
Each month, SOAP features a lecture from an internationally recognized expert in Obstetric Anesthesia.
OB Anesthesia Journal Club
Our fellows will present at and moderate monthly journal club meetings throughout the year.
Maternal Cardiology Management Conferences
Once a month we have a multidisciplinary meeting including cardiologist specializing in maternal heart disease, maternal-fetal medicine experts, anesthesiologists, and pulmonologists to discuss the women followed by the Center for Women’s Heart Disease that are pregnant, planning on becoming pregnant or recently postpartum.
Mallory Hawksworth, MD
Obstetrical Anesthesia Fellow (2024/2025)
Medical School: University of Illinois College of Medicine
Residency: Washington University in St. Louis — Anesthesiology
| Name | Current Position | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Maitri Shah, MD | Private Practice – Woodlands, TX | 2023/2024 |
| Patricia Strutz, MD | 2023/2024 | |
| Kiran Shah, MBBS | Baylor College of Medicine | 2022/2023 |
| Mingchun Liu | Instructor in Anesthesiology Washington University in St. Louis | 2021/2022 |
| Danish Jaffer | Program Director, Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellowship Washington University in St. Louis | 2020/2021 |
| Paige Keasler | | 2020/2021 |
| Matthew Reschke | | 2018/2019 |
| Alex Hincker | Mercy Hospital — St. Louis & Washington University in St. Louis | 2017/2018 |
| Zainab Almeer | | 2017/2018 |
| Allison Mitchell | Residency Program Director Washington University in St. Louis | 2016/2017 |
| Saima Kamal | 2014/2015 | |
| Yunhong Zhang | 2013/2014 |
Training Locations
Barnes-Jewish Hospital
BJH, our primary clinical site, is a renowned quaternary referral center and Level 1 trauma center, consistently ranked among the top hospitals in the nation.
Women & Infants Center
The newly built Women & Infants Center, with stunning views of Forest Park, is one of the most advanced integrated medical centers dedicated to women’s and newborns’ health.
Newborn Intensive Care Unit
Our Level IV NICU located in St. Louis Children’s Hospital provides the highest level of care with nationally ranked services and expert staff to care for the sickest of babies.
