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The Magic of Reflection: Facilitating Resident Discussion of Challenging Family Planning Patient Scenarios

Purpose: To describe residents’ experiences of a guided reflection workshop about patient interactions which provoke negative emotions in the physician

Background: In 2016 we trained faculty to facilitate a guided reflection workshop.  The Professionalism in Reproductive Healthcare Workshop (PRHW) guides obstetrics and gynecology (ob-gyn) residents in exploring interactions with challenging patients, particularly those seeking family planning care.

Methods: Faculty volunteered for the training via a community listserv, underwent a half-day training, and then led workshops at 23 different institutions. Institutions were informed about the workshop by listserv emails, and scheduled workshops into their resident didactics. We conducted pre- and post-training surveys and descriptive analyses to assess post-workshop resident satisfaction and changes in attitudes about patient scenarios using Likert scales.

Results: From 2016 to 2019, 27 faculty conducted 28 workshops with 222 residents in the US and Canada. We collected 139 post-workshop surveys (63%), and 72 matched pre- and post-workshop surveys.  Patient scenarios residents most frequently identified as challenging were women who had more than one abortion, and women who did not want to become pregnant but were not using contraception.  In matched surveys, learners demonstrated greater awareness of reasons a patient might not initiate contraception after abortion and greater acceptance of that decision compared with responses before the workshop  (p< 0.01). The majority (91%) rated the workshop as worthwhile.

Discussions: Resident learners exhibited more understanding attitudes towards challenging family planning patient scenarios after participating in the PRHW. Supporting resident reflections about challenging patient scenarios may improve their ability to provide more high-quality, patient-centered family planning care.

Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2020, Student, Resident, Faculty, Osteopathic Faculty, Residency Director, Residency Coordinator, Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Interpersonal & Communication Skills, GME, Contraception or Family Planning,