Comfort With Skills and Knowledge After Immediate Postpartum Intrauterine Device Training

To estimate whether a standardized immediate postpartum intrauterine device (IUD) simulation results in sustained improvement in perceived comfort with procedural skills.

From November 2013 to April 2015, obstetric health care providers at two teaching hospitals participated in a 30-minute immediate postpartum IUD simulation workshop and program evaluation. We assessed knowledge of indications, insertion technique, safety, and comfort with knowledge and skills preintervention immediately after and 6 months posttraining.

Training participants (N=84) included 39 residents and 45 attendings (25 certified nurse-midwives and 20 obstetrician-gynecologists). Fifty-seven participants (68%) completed the 6-month assessments. Many participants had placed immediate postpartum IUDs before the training (54% of residents compared with 64% of attendings, P=.32); 60% were comfortable with their knowledge and 52% with their insertion skills defined by self-assessment of 7 or greater on a 10-point scale. On the pretest, 77% answered 80% or greater of the knowledge-based questions correctly; this proportion rose to 95% and 97% on the immediate and 6-month assessments, respectively, and were similar between residents and attendings. Immediately posttraining, 94% of participants rated their comfort with knowledge at 7 or greater out of 10; this fell to 86% by 6 months. Likewise, 87% and 74% scored their comfort with skills at 7 or greater out of 10 immediately and at 6 months, respectively. By 6 months, 81% reported placing one or more immediate postpartum IUDs(92% of residents and 71% of attendings, P=.05).

Residents and attendings demonstrate sustained improvement in knowledge and comfort with immediate postpartum IUDs 6 months after a standardized simulation workshop.