Welcome! 

We are a talented group of hard-working, creative, and caring faculty and staff that works every day to bring the best healthcare to Iowans and beyond. I am consistently reminded of the top strength of our organization: the commitment to mission-based work. The individuals we work with typically push their egos to the side in their dedication to delivering their best to our patients, trainees, and colleagues and those across all of Iowa. Our team is rising to the challenges of modern healthcare to meet the needs of those we serve, while working also to maintain the joy and meaning of being a healthcare provider.

Full-Spectrum Care for Women: We are a primary care provider for women’s health, serving normal and uncomplicated pregnancies and routine women’s health issues. Our comprehensive medical, surgical, and nursing services provide the full spectrum of care for patients with normal and complicated pregnancies and for gynecology, including cancer, menopause, female pelvic health, and reproductive endocrinology. The gynecologic oncology program is an integral unit of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa. We are one of the only OBGYN departments in the country to have a faculty of midwives. Our in-vitro fertilization program is a national leader in outcomes and the latest technologies. Additional specialty areas include midwifery, genetics counseling, infertility, in-vitro fertilization, gynecologic urology, menopause, pelvic pain, complex family planning, and prenatal diagnosis.

Serving Iowa: The goal of our department is to serve, educate, and care for Iowans across all of Iowa, and exemplify all models of care in women’s and reproductive health for the world to see. While our care is primarily focused in Iowa City at the University of Iowa Health Care hospitals, we serve all of Iowa, with telehealth and outreach services at sites across the state. Our two main hospital sites are the University Medical Campus (MCU) and the Downtown Medical Campus (MCD) which was formerly known as “Mercy Hospital Iowa City."

Interdisciplinary Depth: A strength of our department is our interdisciplinary composition, as we comprise a diverse group of physicians, nurse-midwives, advanced practice nurses, physician associates, nurses, genetics counselors, sonographers, embryologists, and more. We also have important collaborative relationships with the School of Nursing, the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Departments of Family Medicine and Pediatrics.

Dedication to Research and Scholarship: Basic, translational, and clinical research in reproductive medicine is an important departmental activity and is generously funded by state, federal, and philanthropic support. Our areas of strength in scholarship include obstetric quality and safety, preeclampsia, ovarian and uterine cancer, female pelvic health, fertility/infertility, and rural women’s health. Our internationally-recognized Women’s Health Tissue Repository attracts researchers from across the spectrum of pregnancy and reproductive health and is a particularly unique resource used to answer the more important questions in our field. Collaborations with state and federal agencies are a critical part of our scholarship and research.

Educational Mission: We are dedicated to excellence in the education of medical students, residents, and fellows, as reflected by a competency-based curriculum that is designed to provide practitioners with comprehensive knowledge and outstanding skills. The research efforts of trainees are closely mentored and nurtured by a dedicated research team. Our graduates move on to successful careers in clinical practice and academic obstetrics and gynecology. Our OBGYN residency supports 6 residents a year, with 2 of them designated in a rural track. We have four ACGME-accredited fellowship programs in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Gynecologic Oncology, Maternal Fetal Medicine and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. We also support an accredited Nurse Midwifery training program.  We are committed to preparing trainees across the spectrum, from general OBGYN practice in a small community to subspecialty practice in a large academic hospital.

Whether you are a patient, student/trainee, researcher, physician, midwife, or other provider, we hope you will have a meaningful and rewarding interaction with our department and that we treat you with our unique ‘Iowa nice’ touch.

Sincerely,

Christian Pettker, MD