September 18, 2024
The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) is delighted to announce its support of two OB GYN scholars in its first year of co-sponsor participation in the ABMS Visiting Scholars Program: R. Nicholas Burns, MD, and Abigail Ford Winkel, MD, MHPE, FACOG.
Burns’ research, Evaluating the Relationship of ABOG Certification with Early Career Patient Outcomes in Obstetrics and Gynecology, intends to add to a body of literature regarding the validity of the association between certification and safe patient care, which he notes, has not been previously evaluated in obstetrics and gynecology. ABOG will underwrite Burns’ research with a $15,000 scholar award to cover research and travel costs. An ABOG OB GYN diplomate, Burns earned his medical degree from The University of Texas Galveston and completed residency at the Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University. He completed a fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) at the University of Washington in Seattle, and he is currently an assistant professor in obstetrics and gynecology at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is also a subspecialist candidate for ABOG MFM subspecialty certification.
“Seeing similar work in other specialties, I am confident given the breadth of obstetrics and gynecology, our initial certification process has the potential to inform a junior diplomate’s early career development,” said Burns. “I am thrilled that ABOG and ABMS are supporting this work to understand initial certification’s potential role as a bellwether for early career practice outcomes.”
Winkel’s research will explore Decision-Making on the Labor Floor: Assessment of Obstetrician-Gynecologists’ Expertise Amidst Uncertainty. Her focus on the labor floor is intended to illustrate the contrast between the reality of clinical practice decisions and the learnings therein to the current item-response modeling in assessing OB GYN knowledge as part of the continuing certification process. As an OB GYN board-certified diplomate, ABOG is happy to support Winkel’s efforts to advance her research in the form of collaborative assistance or information germane to her study topic. Her research and travel costs will be funded through grant dollars from the Moore Foundation. Winkel earned her medical degree from Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons. She completed postdoctoral training in obstetrics and gynecology at New York Presbyterian, and she earned a Master of Health Profession Education (MHPE) through Maastricht University. She currently holds a faculty appointment as an obstetrics and gynecology professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
“After focusing my research on earlier points in an OB GYN's education and training, it’s exciting to look at how doctors in practice maintain their expertise,” Winkel noted. “While mastery of OB GYN requires a wide range of knowledge and clinical skills, we know that other aptitudes are also essential. Through this project with ABMS and ABOG, we will explore management of uncertainty in clinical decision-making and learn more about how to support physicians in that capacity.”
“We are thrilled and honored that we have the opportunity to work with these two worthy scholars as part of the ABMS Visiting Scholars Program,” said ABOG Executive Director Amy Young. “The results of their respective studies could ultimately contribute to and impact the OB GYN specialty, and I look forward to collaborating with them on their journeys. The insights we gain as a result of their work have the potential to further evolve the certification processes we employ to advance OB GYN mastery.”
Established in 1933, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is responsible for the creation of standards overseeing physician certification in the United States. Now in its 10th year, the ABMS Visiting Scholars Program supports the research of early-career physicians and research professionals and facilitates leadership development through engagement with ABMS and the broader certification community.
