CMU Ob/Gyn Residency Program

Happy Birthday Drs. Starbird, Farr & Singh! When 3 of your co-residents share the same birthday (what are the odds?!) you have to have a birthday bash during signout. Shout out to our awesome off service resident for the 3 tier birthday cake and residency spouse extraordinaire for the birthday breakfast tacos!! 🎂 🌮

Knitted with love! Thanks to our wonderful attending ,our residents (and our babies!) have been gifted her handmade goods over the years. Socks, potholders, baskets, sleep sacks, and of course baby sweaters! Check out our two newest residency fam babies cozied up in their new coats 🥹

When Taylor Swift lyrics just hit too perfectly not to be put on our pagers. And yes, we still use pagers!

A huge welcome to our new intern class!! 🥳👏🏻🎉

Have you heard the buzz?? 🐝 Two new O-Bee residency babies are joining the CMU OB/Gyn family!

Congratulations to .happilyhaley and for their sweet little ones soon on their way! We loved celebrating you both this past weekend♥️

A couples matching dream! Drs. Morin (Riva, OB/Gyn PGY1 & Justin, EM PGY1) delivered a baby together during Justin’s OB rotation! Has to be an unforgettable experience to share with your spouse.

We love a good milestone pic here at CMU OB/Gyn. Always special to commemorate our 100th, 300th, or 500th delivery! Congrats to .happilyhaley for #300 and our fabulous program director who has delivered a few more than that throughout her career 😉♥️

Photos from our recent Resident Appreciation Dinner hosted by our President/CEO, Dr. Shaheen, where we felt very appreciated, indeed! Thanks to leadership for doing this for us, and for our attendings who covered the floor so we could all attend! 🌟

Happy Holidays from CMU Ob/Gyn ♥️

Swipe for the cutest lil photobomb!

Interview season is here & we are excited to meet you! A photo from our interview social last week where .morin.do made homemade pizza 😋🍕

Last but not least on this lovely ‘Tern Tuesday…
✨ Intern Spotlight ✨
Cassandra Ross, MD

Preferred name: Casey

Hometown: St. Louis, MI

Med School: St. George’s University

Why OBGYN?: I love the versatility of OBGYN, from seeing patients in the clinic to labor and delivery to the OR.

Why CMU?: Being from the area I wanted to return to serve my community.

Career goals: Generalist OBGYN, medical education

Fun fact: I love spending time on the ice whether it’s playing hockey or officiating ice hockey.

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about our awesome intern class! ♥️

Checked OUT of residency & checked OFF a huge milestone of passing their qualifying board examinations! Congratulations to our most recent graduating class on your exam results—you continue to make us so proud of the care you’re providing in California, Kentucky & Washington!

That’s our girl!! Our recent graduate, Dr. Ofori-Dankwa, matched last week into MIGS fellowship at Eastern Virginia University! We couldn’t be more proud of your hard work & dedication in pursuing your dreams. We’re so lucky to be a small part of your beautiful career unfolding. ♥️

✨ Intern Spotlight ✨
Riva Morin, DO

Preferred name: Riva

Hometown: Baldwin, WI

Med School: A.T. Still School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona

Why OBGYN?: I love the relationships, patient continuity, and healthcare advocacy that can happen within OB/GYN.

Why CMU?: I wanted to know the community that I was serving. CMU faculty cultivate resident autonomy within clinic, the OR, and L&D floor as we care for our high-risk populations. Incredible learning opportunities and professional mentorship!

Career goals: General OBGYN

Fun fact: I am a proud plant momma! My husband (EM PGY1) and I couple’s matched!

We said “see you later” to a fabulous surgeon, mentor, educator and friend this week—please join us in wishing Dr. Oatey well on her next adventure in Grand Rapids. We will miss you so much!!

‘Tern Tuesday Time!

✨ Intern Spotlight ✨
Elizabeth Deming, DO

Preferred name: Lizzie

Hometown: Fenton, MI

Med School: Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSUCOM)

Why OBGYN?: OB offers one the ability to see patients throughout their lifetime and develop strong relationships. I also enjoy the variety between clinic, the OR, and the L&D floor.

Why CMU?: Everyone was incredibly welcoming during the interview. Excellent learning opportunities with a Level III NICU.

Career goals: Undecided

Fun fact: I have two French bulldogs, Ollie and Mabel!

Welcome to our new series where we introduce you to the newly minted members of our residency team: ‘Tern Tuesdays!

✨ Intern Spotlight ✨
Herchran Singh, DO

Preferred name: Herchran

Hometown: St. Peter, MN

Med School: AT Still University, School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona

Why OBGYN?: There are several strong and amazing women in my life who had an increasing need for gynecologic care, which encouraged me to look into OBGYN; after participating in my first surgery and C section, I was fully committed!

Why CMU?: I wanted to train in an area where I would be able to work with underserved people and because our program serves most of the north east corner of the lower peninsula, we have a wide breadth of patients and pathologies to work with!!

Career goals: For now I just want to focus on building my base knowledge and being a helpful coworker to my coresidents!

Fun fact: I always wear anklets with bells on them, which is common for dancers in India - I love dancing!

Instagram vs Reality, Intern Welcome Party Edition 🙃

When your intern shadows your clinic & overachieves by matching with you 👯‍♀️

Dogs & babies were cuddled and many popsicles were consumed for our first wellness half day at the dog park!

Class of 2027, reporting for duty! Join us in welcoming our new intern class! So excited to see the wonderful providers you’ll become.

Who said you could leave?! 😭 We said goodbye to our wonderful chiefs this weekend. Drs. Faris, Graham, and Ofori-Dankwa have been such a positive influence on the residency program. They encourage their junior residents, while also pushing them to be their best. They will be taking their talents to California, Kentucky, and Washington and we know they will do great things!

We also want to congratulate this weekend’s award recipients!
-Dr. Allie Rachwitz, PGY2: Louis E. Zeile Outstanding Junior Resident Award
-Dr. Carly Farr, PGY3: AAGL Recognition of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology
-Dr. Duane Heilbronn, Valley OB/GYN: CMU College of Medicine Outstanding Clinical Teaching Award
-Dr. Alexa Shepherd, CMU Clinical Faculty: CREOG National Faculty Award for Excellence

Congratulations to all! And good luck to the PGY1-3 classes as they advance to the next level!

Loved celebrating our graduating seniors tonight at CMU GME graduation, as well as having the chance to honor some of our attending physicians who we appreciate so much! Drs. Blanchard, Croco, Dean & Lynch—we’re so proud of what you’ve accomplished & can’t wait to see all the good you do in this world! Congratulations—you’ve earned it!

Elf on the Shelf? Nope! Here, it’s “Baby in a Blanket”. Where should our Saturday call team hide him next? Wrong answers only 😂

Congratulations to our graduating 4th years! Last night, thanks to the COVID vaccine, we were able to celebrate four years of hard work and excellent learning opportunities. We’re so excited for all of their futures: here at CMU, in Denver, in Atlanta, and in Dayton. Best wishes from your CMU family! We will miss you!

Today was our inaugural laparoscopic olympics coordinated by Dr. Zenobia Ofori-Dankwa and Dr. Katie Parisi! It was such a great day working on our FLS skills, along with some fun extra tasks, with our attendings. Congratulations Dr. Anushka Magal and Dr. Andreozzi for being the resident and attending winners! Ultimately, Dr. Andreozzi took home the golden uterus for the attendings after peeling twizzlers the quickest! We’ll be better prepared next year!! Check out our stories for behind the scenes fun!

The perk of being vaccinated is that a few of our residents were able to gather to celebrate PGY4 Chris DeVries and his wife Ally’s baby! We are so excited to welcome this baby to the CMU OB residency family 💙

Day one of Wellness Week: The Great Ob/Gyn Bakeoff, and post-interview dinner Happy Hour featuring two specialty cocktails.

The Induction:
-Vodka (or sparkling water)
-Lime
-Jalapeños
-Ginger beer

The Abruption
-Bourbon
-Blood orange juice
-Simple syrup
-Bitters

When the resident in charge of is on night float so you get a instead 🙃. . Regardless, we hope you walk into this Monday with all of the flair/confidence of the first photo of this weeks feature, Dr. Kiara Whitsell! A Detroit native, Kiara spends much of her free weekends driving back to see her family. Any guesses on how many siblings she has?! Hint: it’s a lot. 😉 If you’ve been to one of our meet and greets you’ve probably already heard! Dr. Whitsell is great at keeping it real and always bringing forth her genuine self. We’re glad to work and learn alongside of her! And even more glad when she says her signature catch phrase—“so petty”.