Family Medicine Obstetrics Fellowship

Physicians perform a C-section at USA Health Children's & Women's Hospital.
Learn more about residencies and fellowships at the University of South Alabama and life on the Gulf Coast.
Welcome Message
We offer a remarkable experience for our fellows and are looking for candidates who will continue to provide care to underserved and/or rural populations after training and improve health outcomes. Our fellowship is provided in the blended context of academic and rural medicine. USA Health is the only academic health center in lower Alabama and includes USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital, which has the only level III neonatal intensive care unit in the region. Andalusia Health, our partner hospital, is Covington County’s primary provider of full range obstetrical care.
The USA Health Family Medicine Obstetrics Fellowship in Mobile, Alabama, is an evolving training program for family medicine physicians that began in July 2022. The fellowship provides trainees with a tailored and comprehensive 12-month educational experience with robust obstetrics training in both urban and rural settings. Fellows will receive instruction in OB ultrasound, including the use of telehealth, cesarean-section training, advanced obstetrics, prenatal care (including at-risk pregnancies), and gynecological procedures. The one-year program accepts up to two fellows each year from accredited residency programs in family medicine.
Current Fellows

Blake Christensen, D.O.
Medical School: Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Trios Health Program Family Medicine

Jesse Noe, M.D.
Medical School: Meharry Medical College School of Medicine
Residency: Idaho State University Program Family Medicine
Past Fellows

Brittany Pederson, D.O.
Medical School: Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Broadlawns Medical Center Family Medicine

Kayla Arthur, D.O.
Medical School: New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University
Residency: East Tennessee State University Bristol Family Medicine

Stefanie Sippl, MD
Medical School: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Residency: University of Wisconsin at Madison Family Medicine and Community Health

Rachel Mendoza, M.D.
Medical School: Ponce Health Sciences University
Residency: University of Kansas School of Medicine at Via Christi

Olivia Johnson, M.D.
Medical School: East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine
Residency: University of Kansas School of Medicine at Via Christi
- Strong university-based program, with training in both urban and rural hospitals.
- Program affiliated with USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital, 152 beds, with more than 2,400 deliveries per year; and Andalusia Health, with approximately 300 deliveries per year, located in rural Alabama.
- Community-based partnership with Evergreen Family Medical and Franklin Primary Health Center to deliver prenatal care.
- Fellows have the opportunity to perform 70-100 C-sections, 85-plus vaginal deliveries, 10-20 tubal ligations; postpartum tubals, perineal laceration repairs, deliveries, D&Cs, IUD insertions, endometrial biopsies and colposcopies.
- Dedicated family medicine and OB-GYN faculty who are accessible and committed to your education, providing both clinical supervision and expertise, as well as rewarding mentorship.
Labor and Delivery
- The inpatient service will be at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital and at least four months of operative obstetric care at a rural Alabama hospital, Andalusia Health.
Clinic
- Family medicine clinic (½ day every week): providing maternal and newborn care to own panel of patients at the Andalusia Health clinics while on rural rotations.
- Prenatal clinic in Evergreen (1 day every other week); time is spent providing prenatal care at Evergreen Family Medical | Franklin Primary Health Center in Evergreen, AL
- Selective time that rotates (examples include MFM clinic, OB ultrasound, D&C and LEEP
in OR, Colpo clinic, family planning clinic, Antepartum service)

USA Health Children's & Women's Hospital

USA Health Strada Patient Care Center
USA Clinic Locations (Mobile, AL)
- Outpatient OB/GYN clinic will take place at the Center for Women’s Health | Strada Patient Care Center
- Outpatient management of high-risk pregnancies with USA Maternal Fetal Medicine at the Center for Women’s Health | Strada Patient Care Center
- Gynecology blocks will take place at USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital, Center for Women’s Health | Strada Patient Care Center
Didactics
- Blocked time for weekly didactics with faculty and rural physicians will cover textbook reading assignments supplemented with corresponding ACOG practice bulletins and committee opinions
- Participation in and leading of hands-on simulations
- Monthly Journal Club
- Continuing medical education reimbursement
- ALSO course; NRP course; advanced ultrasound course
- ½ day of administrative time; periodically present a topic to residents on service or at-large depending on scheduling
Sample 4-Week Block Schedule
| Required Block Rotation | Number of Block(s) |
|---|---|
| Labor and Delivery | 3 |
| Gynecology | 1 |
| High-Risk Obstetrics | 1 |
| Rural Rotation (Labor and Delivery) | 4 |
| Elective (flexible rotation) | 1.5 |
| Night Float | 1 |
| Ultrasound | 1 |
We are excited that you have chosen to further your training in Family Medicine Obstetrics and look forward to reviewing your application to our fellowship program. Applications for the class of '27-28 will open on July 1, 2026. Applications are reviewed and interviews scheduled on a rolling basis. Our interviews will take place from September 7-25, 2026. As we are not an ACGME accredited fellowship, we cannot sponsor J1 visas.
When applications are open, a link will appear here.
Materials we require for the application:
- Letters of recommendation (2) including one from your current Program Director and one from an OB-GYN or FMOB physician who has direct knowledge of your clinical OB skills is advisable
- Personal statement
- Curriculum Vitae
- Log Verification
- ITE scores
- USMLE or COMLEX Scores
- Alabama Attestation
To qualify for the USA Health Family Medicine Obstetrics Fellowship, you must:
- Hold a Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree
- Have completed a three-year family medicine residency program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA)
- Hold or be eligible for an Alabama medical license
- Hold or be eligible for board certification
- Have a valid Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Registration Number that allows you to write prescriptions
- Must be committed to Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board’s requirement of one year return of service in a rural Alabama community with fewer than 25,000 citizens OR employment at a family medicine residency that teaches obstetrics to future family medicine physicians.
Please note that USA Health doesn’t sponsor visas for this fellowship. Two positions are open every year, with preference given to recent family medicine residency graduates.
The USA Health FMOB Fellowship has joined a group of 40+ programs across the country in creating the Family Medicine Obstetrics Fellowship Directors Association (FMOB-FDA). One of the top priorities of the FMOB-FDA has been to reform the fellowship recruitment process. The prior process pushed fellowship programs to interview and offer spots earlier and earlier each year, and pressures candidates to accept offers before they can complete the interview process or fully consider their options.
Therefore, the FMOB-FDA affiliated program directors have agreed for the 2026 application cycle to the following format:
- July 1, 2026: Application opening date
- On or before interview day, we will require applicants to sign a statement agreeing to hold no more than 1 fellowship offer for more than 72 hours (after initial offer period) and to notify all programs at which they have interviewed when they accept a position elsewhere
- September 30, 2026: All programs will have finished interviews
- October 1, 2026: Programs will make initial offers to applicants
- October 12, 2026: Date by which applicants will be required to respond to initial offers. (Spots will be held for applicants until this date)
- After October 12, 2026, offers for unfilled positions will be sent on a rolling basis, and applicants will have 72 hours to respond before the spot is offered to another applicant.
Our goal is that candidates will be able to choose their preferred program and thus we will all matriculate fellows who truly wish to train at our program.
Please email any inquiries regarding the fellowship or to request an application to Jenna James at jmjames@health.southalabama.edu.
USA Health Department of Family Medicine
2424 Gordon Smith Dr., Mobile, AL 36617
Clinic: 251-434-3475 | Residency Office: 251-434-3484
USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital
1700 Center St.
Mobile, AL 36604
Monroe County Hospital
2016 South Alabama Ave.
Monroeville, AL 36460