Establishing Consensus on Residency Education in Women's Health.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Internal medicine residents are expected to be able to provide gender-specific care. The objective of this study was to develop a consensus list of core topics and procedural skills in women's health to allow residency program directors to prioritize and standardize educational efforts in women's health.

METHODS:

We conducted a two-round Delphi of women's health experts. Participants were given a list of topics and asked to: (1) rank each topic based on how important they felt each topic was for internal medicine residents to be proficient in upon graduation, and (2) identify which topics were critical for a women's health curriculum. Mean importance ratings for all topics and mean agreement ratings for the critical topics were calculated. The list of critical topics mirrored the list of important topics; therefore, our consensus list included any topic that received a mean importance rating of ≥4.

RESULTS:

Of the 41 experts invited to participate, 46% (19) completed the first round with 100% (19/19) completing the second round. The majority (62.5%, n = 35) of topics received an importance rating of ≥4. The highest-ranking topics included cervical cancer screening, screening for osteoporosis, and diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections (mean rating of 4.95/each). Other highly rated topics included those related to contraception/reproductive planning, breast disease, menopause, and performing the breast and pelvic examinations. The diagnosis of gender-specific conditions was generally rated as more important than the management of the conditions. In addition, pregnancy-related topics were overall deemed as less important for internal medicine training.

CONCLUSION:

Our study generated a consensus list of 35 core topics in women's heath that should serve as a guide to residency programs for the development of women's health curricula.

• Authors: Amy H Farkas, Sarah Tilstra, Sonya Borrero, Melissa McNeil
• Journal: Journal of women's health (2002) (J Womens Health (Larchmt)) Vol. 26 Issue 1 Pg. 13-17 (01 2017) ISSN: 1931-843X [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 27732128 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Topics

• Consensus
• Curriculum
• Delphi Technique
• Education, Medical, Graduate
• Expert Testimony
• Female
• Humans
• Internal Medicine (education)
• Internship and Residency
• Middle Aged
• Pennsylvania
• Women's Health