The Ob/Gyn Center at Bethesda North Hospital

Jenny Siv, Summer 2010

This summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to work at the Bethesda North Ob/Gyn Center in Blue Ash. Located across from Bethesda North Hospital, the clinic specializes in providing affordable health care to a diverse set of women from Cincinnati and beyond. Fully run by resident doctors, services at the clinic are provided at an 85% discount. Approximately 50 percent of the women seen in the clinic are covered under Medicaid, while the others are either self-pay or have insurance that does not cover prenatal care. For our pregnant patients, the clinic offers OB packages that cover the cost of their antenatal and postpartum care. These packages cover the essential needs of their care during their pregnancy, and varies in price from $2500 for a vaginal birth to $2900 for a C-section. The site also features a full nursing staff, a dietician, social workers, and a financial aid advisor. In addition, the clinic has its very own Spanish interpreter, as approximately 25 percent of the clinic’s patients are Spanish-speaking only. The clinic also sees many immigrants from Eastern Europe, Asian, India, and Africa as well.

During my whirlwind introduction into the world of Ob/Gyn, I have gained a better understanding of our current health care environment, witnessing the growing number of patients and the time constraints doctors must deal with on a daily basis. I was able to not only shadow the residents, but the dietician and the financial aid advisor as well. In taking this holistic approach, I was able to witness what many of these women go through to stay healthy and obtain proper health care. Many patients must make tough choices, and many are unable to receive the health care options they desire.

My internship at Bethesda North Ob/Gyn Center has been invaluable to me as a doctor in training. I have gained essential clinical experience through shadowing residents, taking patient histories, measuring fundal heights, listening to fetal heart tones, preparing wet mounts, performing physical exams and pap smears, counseling patients, writing progress notes, and presenting cases to the residents and attending. I was also able to round at the hospital, where I assisted in performing C-section and witnessed a vaginal birth with forceps. In addition to the clinical experience, I have gained a better understanding of what makes a good physician a great physician. My time at Bethesda North has been a true learning experience for me, and has instilled in me a greater sense of confidence in myself as a physician, as well as a person. I will carry the important lessons that I have learned here with me through my career.