Mass General Brigham Complex Family Planning Fellowship
Email: BWHComplexFP@mgb.org
Overview
The Mass General Brigham CFP fellowship began at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, an institution that has a long-standing commitment to family planning. Dr Kenneth J. Ryan, for whom the national 'Ryan Program' is named, was the Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology from 1973 to 1993. Under his leadership the hospital began offering abortion services and OBGYN resident training in abortion in 1973 with the legalization of abortion with the Roe v. Wade decision. Abortion services and training for residents has been ongoing ever since. The Complex Family Planning Fellowship program began in July of 2005 in partnership with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. Since that time, the fellowship expanded to include other training sites, became ACGME accredited in 2021 and became the integrated Mass General Brigham Complex Family Planning Fellowship in 2025.
- Trainees per year: one
- Fellowship length: two years
- Salary: Mass General Brigham (MGB) GME PGY5 level salary first year, MGB GME PGY6 level salary second year.
- Benefits: 4 weeks of vacation per year. MGB benefits package including medical and dental insurance along with retirement funding and malpractice coverage. Learn more about MGB GME salary and benefits.
- Year program began: 2005
- Program Director: Kari P. Braaten, MD, MPH
- Associate Program Director: Alisa B. Goldberg, MD, MPH
Fellowship Mission and Vision
Our mission is to develop obstetrician-gynecologist leaders in abortion and contraception through training in clinical care, research, and education.
We envision a world in which clinical care, health systems and public policy promote reproductive autonomy and justice for all people, and particularly for individuals whose reproductive capacity and freedoms are currently devalued.
Fellowship Aims
Clinical - To train physicians to be experts in the clinical care of patients requiring abortion and contraceptive services and specifically to provide expert consultation and/or comprehensive care for patients with complex problems related to Family Planning.
Research - To train physicians that can function effectively in the arena of clinical, translational or health service investigation in Family Planning, to advance the discipline, remain current and generate and utilize scientific evidence to inform clinical and health system policies in this rapidly changing field.
Academic Development – To develop communication skills in our fellows that enable them to speak and write effectively to varied audiences about topics related to contraception and abortion
Education and Leadership - To develop skills in our fellows as educators, mentors and eventual leaders in the field of Family Planning.
Curriculum
Clinical Training
Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH)
- Family Planning Center (FPC): hospital-based procedural unit dedicated to abortion care, management of pregnancy loss, and complex contraceptive procedures.
- Complex Contraception Clinic (HRCC): Ambulatory clinic, dedicated to serving patients the contraceptive needs of patients with complex medical conditions.
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM)
- 1st and 2nd trimester procedural abortion and medication abortion.
- Triage of patients to appropriate clinical setting (community versus hospital).
- Consultant to Advanced Practice Clinicians.
Tufts Medical Center
- Clinical abortion training (2nd trimester).
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)
- Clinical abortion training (2nd trimester).
Newton-Wellesley Hospital
- Independent obstetric practice (L&D coverage) is available to fellows as an optional moonlighting activity, at this MGB-affiliated community hospital.
Mentorship and Education
Mentorship
Mentorship is provided by the Complex Family Planning faculty. Within MGB this includes four ABOG board certified CFP physicians and a PhD social scientist. Additional mentors include CFP faculty at our other clinical sites, as well as several other OB/GYN physicians with extensive family planning experience. Fellows meet with the fellowship directors regularly, as well as with their research mentors, which may also include faculty outside of the division.
Didactics
The Division of Family Planning has a weekly lecture series with lectures given by our faculty, fellows, residents, sub-interns, and outside invited speakers. Additionally, the fellows have a twice-monthly teaching session with the Program Director and other attending staff, covering core topics from the CFP fellowship curriculum. Weekly BWH OB/GYN department grand rounds as well as other division and department-wide didactics are also available to the fellows. Annual special lectures and events focusing on Reproductive Health and Women’s health are sponsored by Harvard Medical School, the Connor’s Center for Women’s Health Research, and the Division of Women’s Health, all of which are available to the fellows. The fellows also participate in a yearly joint lecture with the Women’s Mental Health fellowship.
Research Experience
Fellows complete courses in research methodology through the Harvard Catalyst program. Fellows who don't already have an MPH complete the NIH IPPCR clinical research certificate program in their first year. Fellows learn hands-on research implementation by designing and completing an independent research project, mentored by our experienced faculty, and learning from our expert research staff. Fellows have completed a wide variety of types of research including prospective and retrospective clinical studies, qualitative and mixed-method studies.
How to Apply
For entry into ACGME-accredited fellowship programs, individuals must have completed in an ACGME-accredited residency program, or in an RCPSC-accredited or CFPC-accredited program located in Canada. Applicants must be legally able to work in the U.S., or eligible to obtain work authorization. If you have questions, please contact bwhcomplexfp@mgb.org.
Application Requirements:
- ERAS application
- CV
- USMLE/COMLEX scores
- Personal Statement
- 3 Letters of recommendation (1 letter of recommendation must be from your OBGYN Residency Program Director)
Q: Are fellows required to do obstetrics as part of the CFP fellowship?
A: Fellows at MGB are not required to do obstetrics as part of the CPFP fellowship. There is an optional opportunity to do obstetrics as moonlighting, outside of the fellowship requirements. This is typically 2 shifts per month.
Q: Do fellows take general gyn call?
A: Fellows at MGB are a part of the general gyn call pool for the resident “Ward” service, where they act as the Attending of the Week for two weeks of the year. This involves staffing all gynecologic inpatients, inpatient and outpatient consults, and urgent/emergent operative cases.
Q: Where do fellows spend most of their clinical time?
A: Fellows gain the majority of their first trimester and earlier second trimester abortion experience at PPLM, with BWH being the site where they do more late 2nd trimester abortion cases, complex abortion and contraception procedures and complex contraception outpatient care. Additional second trimester cases at MGH and Tufts occur roughly 1-2 times per month.
Robert Barbieri, MD
Kate Macy Ladd Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
Interim Director of Obstetrics, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Past Chair (1993-2020), Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Danielle Roncari, MD, MPH (Site Director, Tufts Medical Center)
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tufts School of Medicine
Director, Division of Family Planning, Tufts Medical Center
Medical Director, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts