Obstetrics and gynecology between clinics and research

An evaluation of a 25-year chairmanship at the University of Nijmegen is given. The main tasks were patient care, teaching and research. Patient care was influenced by new techniques later introduced into the various subdisciplines of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Evaluation of patient care was guaranteed by annual reports focussing on avoidable factors for morbidity or mortality. Furthermore the department was visited every five years by a hospital recognition committee for specialist training. There were just two juridical complaints that finally were denied. Clinical teaching involved medical students, interns and residents. The changes in teaching followed an international change from one-person lectures to student study groups. Efficacy of teaching was evaluated by an inter-university comparison of study duration. Nijmegen scored high. The evaluation of teaching for residents was done by the yearly one-day participation in the American CREOG (Council Resident Examination Obstetrics and Gynecology) multiple choice examination. The level of final positions of trained residents can also be seen as a partial result of the quality of training. Twenty out of 128 (15.6%) were nominated as professors. The Ph.D. residents were all working in major teaching hospitals. Research efforts were evaluated by the number of Ph.D.'s acquired by residents. Fifty-three percent of the residents accomplished a Ph.D. thesis. This was ten times the mean of the country. Several new techniques were introduced by the department in the Netherlands: amniotic fluid analysis, chromosomal investigations, fetal monitoring, animal studies, laparoscopy, ultrasound, radio-immuno-assay, gasanalysis of cord blood, genetic counseling, monoclonal antibodies and prolactin-agonists. Four research lines could be considered as an international breakthrough: the silent fetal heart rate pattern, dopamine-agonists, fetal behavioural states and homocysteine metabolism associated with neural tube defects. The last "homocysteine" project was multidisciplinary and brought about most grants. The impact factor of publications doubled from 1985 till 2000 because of publications in high-ranking general-medicine journals. It is concluded that a university chairmanship needs fertile soil in which "the genes can express themselves". Research grants can act as a fertiliser. For an international approach prerequisites are a multidisciplinary project with publication in high ranking (general medicine) journals. This policy was created in Nijmegen, a well known University for teaching, patient care and research.