Deborah A. Penava, MD, FRCSC, MPH - Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Penava reviews medical content for Healthwise, a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better health decisions. Dr. Penava is an associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. She is a member of the research committee for the department and past Director of Undergraduate Education. She has recently assumed the position of Director of Health Informatics for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Penava is actively involved in the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC). She served as chair of the Women's Health Policy Committee until 2006.

Dr. Penava has been the recipient of several grants. In 2005, she received a Faculty Support for Research in Education Grant to perform a faculty needs assessment in gender health. In 2003, she received a University of Western Ontario Faculty Development Grant to participate in an Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) meeting for Early Career Women Faculty, as well as a grant from the Academic Enrichment fund to study development of a neonatal morbidity index. In 2000, she received money from the Academic Enrichment Fund through the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Western Ontario, for her study "Does Participation in the Healthy Sexuality Program Make Medical Students Better Communicators?" From 1996 through 1997, she received the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (APOG)-Serono Research Grant for her study "Implantation in Pre-Eclampsia: The Expression of Gelatinases and Tissue Inhibitors of Metalloproteinases in Human Placentas."

Board Certifications

Fellow, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada—1999

Fellow, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists—2005

Healthwise Knowledgebase Topics Reviewed

Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding

Labour, Delivery, and Postpartum Period

Sexual Problems in Women

Vaginal Fistula

Vaginal Birth after Caesarean (VBAC)

Education

MD: University of Western Ontario, London, ON, 1994

Residency: University of Western Ontario, London, ON, 1994–1999

Fellowship: Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, 1999

MPH: Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 1999–2000

Academic Appointments

Assistant Professor: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, 2000–2007

Associate Professor: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, 2007–present

Hospital Affiliations

London Health Sciences Centre

St. Joseph's Health Care

Professional Affiliations

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Canadian Association of Medical Educators

Canadian Medical Association

Canadian Medical Protective Agency

Ontario Medical Association

Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Canada

Selected Publications

1. Hollett-Caines J, Vilos G, Penava DA (2003). Laparoscopic mobilization of the rectosigmoid and excision of the obliterated cul-de-sac. Journal of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, 10(2): 190–194.
2. Khan Y, Sbrocca N, Stanojevic S, Penava DA (2003). Exposure to emergency contraception in an undergraduate curriculum. Journal of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, 25: 391–395.
3. Penava DA, Stanojevic S (December 2002). Communication skills assessed at OSCE are not affected by participation in adolescent health sexuality program. Medical Education Online. Available online: http://www.med-ed-online.org/issue2.htm#v7 (accessed: September 29, 2003).
4. MacLean-Fraser E, Penava DA, Vilos G (2002). Complications rates of primary and repeat endometrial ablations. Journal of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, 9(2): 175–177.
5. Vilos GA, Penava DA (2000). Management of laparoscopic trocar injuries to anterior abdominal wall blood vessels. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Canada, 22(5): 349–352.
6. Vilos GA, Hancock G, Penava DA, Kozak I, Davies W (1999). Nine cases of laparoscopic bowel injury during 3,472 laparoscopies. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Canada, 21(12): 1144–1150.
7. Penava DA, Vilos GA, Hancock G (1999). Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Canada, 21(7): 662–668.

Financial Disclosure

This reviewer reported no financial conflicts.

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