The Denver Sexually Transmitted Diseases Prevention/Training Center: a two-year performance evaluation

The Venereal Disease Control Division of the Centers for Disease Control (Atlanta, Ga.) has funded the development of nine regional Sexually Transmitted Diseases Prevention/Training Centers. During its first two years of operation, the Denver center offered 17 courses of three types to 158 students. The performance of the Denver Center as to appropriateness of student selection and outcome measures of training was evaluated. The evaluation concentrated on students from the more extensive, two-week Level I course. Comparison of students' written examinations before and after the course demonstrated an average improvement in correct responses of 24.9%. Students rated overall course quality at 3.66 on a four-point scale. Post-course surveys 9.5 months later were completed by 74% of students and 72% of their supervisors. All student respondents take sexual and sexually transmitted disease histories, and 82% routinely prepare specimens from men and women for culture of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Nine percent of students were no longer employed at STD clinics, but supervisors agreed that for 92% of students, training benefits outweighed lost work time. It is concluded that the perceived needs of Level I students and their supervisors have been met and that data from the survey infer satisfactory patient care in their clinics.