Purpose: To use an educational workshop to improve knowledge base and increase likelihood of selecting vaginal hysterectomy as surgical route for patients despite perceived barriers.
Background: Due to the declining trend of VH performed annually combined with increased time in residency dedicated to learning alternative approaches, there is concern that residents are not receiving adequate training to competently perform VH.
Methods: This was an IRB approved study on a prospective cohort of OBGYN residents at a large academic referral center. A workshop was developed consisting of an expert lecture on VH by a FPMRS faculty, video from a VH master course, and the use of a hands-on model for simulation of uterine debulking.
Results: Sixteen residents completed the pre and post-assessment surveys and were evenly distributed between the four postgraduate years. Prior to the workshop, residents reported large uterine size as a significant barrier to VH. The decision impact score for large uterine size decreased from 4.19 prior to the workshop to 3.31 after the workshop (p = 0.014), indicating that large uterine size was viewed as less of a barrier to VH. Residents were more likely to select VH as the preferred route after the workshop, answering a mean of 3 of 7 vignettes correctly on the pre-assessment compared to 5 of 7 vignettes correctly on the post-assessment (p = < 0.001).
Discussions: An educational workshop targeting perceived barriers to VH increased the proportion of residents who would choose VH as the primary route of surgery despite perceived barriers in this group of residents.
Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2020, Student, Resident, Faculty, Residency Director, Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Practice-Based Learning & Improvement, GME, Simulation, Lecture, General Ob-Gyn,
Crista Hays, TriHealth; Ganga Devaiah; Catrina Crisp, MD, MSc; Devin Namaky, MD