Those on the path toward being a medical provider will tell you that OB/GYN is a competitive specialty. “There are only three OB/GYN programs in the state of Indiana, and Parkview is one of them,” Dr. Megan Zaucha, OB/GYN resident physician, said.
“I actually auditioned at Parkview as a fourth-year medical student since I knew that there was a residency, and I just fell in love with it,” Dr. Sierra Froehlich, OB/GYN resident physician said. “There's no place else I'd rather be or anything else I'd rather be doing. When I was doing my medical school, the community just south of us closed their OB hospital, and I remember it was so stressful trying to figure out what we were going to do with those patients. How are we going to see these patients that have to drive two hours to get to the closest OB? And the same thing is happening in Fort Wayne. It's a big part of what drew me to Parkview.”
Growing quickly
“We’re all here to become the best doctors that we can be,” Dr. Froehlich said. “Even just looking back at where I was a year ago, I can't believe the things that I can do. I could barely tie a surgical knot last year, and I can do my half of a hysterectomy now. It's just absolutely wild the progress that you make in residency.
It starts with support
As Dr. Froehlich was quick to point out, you can't have a residency program without people passionate about teaching. For Parkview residents, that’s Dr. Christina Duncan-Lothamer, medical director, Gynecology Oncology.
“With the changing world of healthcare, there is such a strong need because there's less and less people becoming physicians,” Dr. Duncan-Lothamer said. “It's not just another person coming and watching. It’s somebody who's going to be doing this job at some point in their life and taking care of another human. They are the ones that are going to be taking over when I retire. And they're the ones that are going to be taking care of your children. When we get home, we have children to take care of, and they see that and they're empowered. They think of us as the women warriors.”
“Getting to be there for women during their labor course and be there in their most vulnerable moments is something that I do not take for granted or take lightly,” Dr. Zaucha said. “You want to see things in residency that you'll know how to handle those things as an attending. Parkview is always growing, kind of expanding, getting new technologies. I feel confident that we'll have kind of the latest technology that we need to get the best training.”
Dr. Duncan-Lothamer believes in sharing the tough lessons she’s learned along the way so that other physicians don’t have to have the same experience. “I think about things I've overcome as a survival guide I get to give them. And I hope that they realize how meaningful and purposeful this journey is.”
Focused on the future
“I want to help as many people as I can,” Dr. Zaucha said, “so I see myself practicing in a smaller community where you deliver your patients, and then you take care of their kids, and you meet women from all walks of life and run into them at the grocery store.”
Dr. Duncan-Lothamer gets emotional speaking to future of the physicians she’s working with today. “I like to think that we all have a legacy we leave, and if I can have a say in the legacy that I leave I want it to be a positive one. I want it to be something that made an impact. That I gave people a little bit more joy and relief.”
“My aunt used to say this phrase, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far go together.’” Dr. Zaucha said. “I think this really holds true here at this program.”
