Precision Education: How Ready Are Obstetrics and Gynecology Clerkships for the Future of Medical Education?

Precision education has been heralded as the future of medical education, yet substantial barriers to realizing this future exist. We sought to explore the current state of precision education in obstetrics and gynecology clerkship settings including barriers to adoption of this approach and strategies to support clinical educators interested in accelerating the advancement of precision education in their educational programs.

We designed a survey using an iterative approach informed by a literature review of principles and best practices for a precision education approach in clinical education settings. The survey queried about current adoption of technologies, resources, and approaches associated with precision education, as well as perceived barriers to further adoption of precision education. The survey was piloted among of subset of educators prior to distribution.

Obstetrics and gynecology clerkship directors were identified through cross-referencing list from the LCME and from the national professional society supporting obstetrics and gynecology educators, to optimize our ability to capture one response from each MD granting program within the United States.

About 95 clerkship leaders responded, for a response rate of 69.3%. Nearly one-quarter of clerkships use autonomously generated teaching materials, 17% use augmented-reality technologies, and 6% use artificial-intelligence teaching assistants. Factors such as grading system or clerkship director experience were not associated with readiness for precision education. Strategies identified as more practical to implement include automated generation of teaching materials, flexible scheduling of clerkship experiences, and inclusion of students and community members into curricular decisions.

As with other technological advancements in healthcare and education, the adoption of precision education is occurring gradually and at varying paces at institutions across the nation. This work suggests strategies that may be more readily implemented into clerkships for institutions aiming to accelerate progress towards precision education.