Purpose: To improve third year medical students’ awareness and appreciation of religious and cultural competency across multiple domains.
Background: Cultural competency is a crucial tool for physicians; it is especially important in the realm of obstetrics and gynecology, where patients are particularly vulnerable and issues regarding life, death, gender and sexuality are encountered daily. It can be difficult to acquire sensitivity regarding these issues without compromising patient care. Explicit, unbiased education in cultural and religious differences will assist students in expressing understanding of their patients.
Methods: A 1-hr didactics session with peer-instruction style questions is presented to 3rd year medical students (Nf23) during their obstetrics and gynecology clerkship. Following the presentation discussing bioethics, birth control, pain control, diet, male circumcision, female genital mutilation, blood transfusions, end of life decision making, and LGBTQ+ care, students anonymously rank their understanding quantitatively on a 1-5 scale before and after the presentation in each domain, as well as qualitatively through free-text style responses.
Results: Students’ reported understanding of every domain discussed increased significantly following the didactics session (p < 0.002 for all categories); students subjectively reported that the experience was of interest, a good use of time, expressed a desire for more information about these topics.
Discussions: Teaching cultural and religious competency directly and explicitly through lecture-style didactics is a useful and effective tool for new clinical learners to prepare for clerkships and practice by increasing awareness and understanding. More research into most relevant cultural issues to cover and potential expansion to greater than 1 didactics session is needed.
Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2022, Student, Patient Care, Professionalism, Interpersonal & Communication Skills, GME, Lecture, Public Health, Advocacy,
Malavika P. Sengupta, MS, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine; Marilyn Kindig, DO
