Abortion training at multiple sites: an unexpected curriculum for teaching systems-based practice.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Systems Analysis
• Women's Health

Background:

• Systems-based practice (SBP) was established as a core competency by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in 1999.
• Integrating SBP education is crucial for training competent physicians.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effectiveness of a women's health rotation, including abortion training, in teaching systems-based practice to residents.
• To explore how varied clinical settings contribute to residents' understanding of healthcare systems.

Main Methods:

• Residents from two urban family medicine programs participated in a women's health rotation with early abortion training.
• Semistructured interviews were conducted with 26 residents who completed the rotation between July 2005 and August 2006.
• Thematic coding analysis was applied to interview transcripts to identify key learning experiences.

Main Results:

• Residents gained insights into systems-based practice by observing different healthcare delivery models.
• Participants identified systemic failures in meeting reproductive healthcare needs and understood inter-system differences.
• Residents recognized potential systems barriers they might encounter as future healthcare providers.

Conclusions:

• Abortion training within multiple clinical settings can effectively teach systems-based practice.
• This multi-site training model offers a transferable paradigm for teaching SBP in other medical rotations.
• Exposure to diverse healthcare environments enhances residents' understanding of healthcare system dynamics.