Purpose: To assess if medical students rotating at a Catholic hospital performed differently on a contraception Contraceptive Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
Background: Catholic hospitals operate under set restrictions on abortion, contraception, and sterilization services. There is concern that the institutional policies may limit reproductive education for medical students during their Ob/Gyn rotation.
Methods: Retrospective cohort study of students in Ob/Gyn clerkship at a single medical school between July 2017 and June 2019 (n=281). Students were assigned to one of three clinical sites. Contraceptive OSCE scores were compared between students assigned to a Catholic hospital and a non-faith based hospital.
Results: There was a significant decrease in the mean total contraceptive OSCE scores of students assigned to a Catholic hospital compared to students at a non-naith based hospital (mean 69.35 ± 9.34 and 72.21 ± 8.49; p = 0.008). There was also a significant decrease in the mean data gathering contraceptive OSCE scores for the students at the Catholic Hospital (mean 62.31 ± 16.49 and 70.53 ± 15.82; p = 0.0000295). There was no significant difference in mean clinical reasoning or communication contraceptive OSCE scores, total clerkship OSCE scores, or final clerkship grade between the two groups.
Discussions: There are notable differences in contraceptive education between students at a Catholic vs non-Faith based hospital. The significant difference in data gathering scores demonstrates the importance of practicing these skills during their rotation. It is important to build opportunities for students to gain this experience if they are not able to do so at their clinical site.
Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2021, Student, Resident, Faculty, Clerkship Director, Clerkship Coordinator, Osteopathic Faculty, Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Interpersonal & Communication Skills, Practice-Based Learning & Improvement, UME, Assessment, Standardized Patient, Public Health, Contraception or Family Planning,
Virginia Zu, BS, Albany Medical Center; Ashwini Javlekar, MD; Fatima Daoud Yilmaz, MD; Johanna Bringley, DO
