Influences on teaching colposcopy and treatment modalities in family practice programs

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Family Medicine
• Gynecology

Background:

• Colposcopy and related therapies are integral to many family practice residency curricula.
• Factors influencing the teaching of these procedures include the presence of obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN) residency programs and community physician attitudes.
• This study examines the impact of these two factors on curriculum decisions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the influence of co-located OB-GYN residency programs on family practice residency training in colposcopy.
• To assess the impact of perceived community obstetrician-gynecologist attitudes on family practice residency programs' decisions to teach colposcopy and related treatments.

Main Methods:

• A 1993 survey was distributed to 399 accredited family practice residency programs.
• The survey achieved an 86.5% response rate, yielding data from 344 programs.
• Data analysis focused on correlations between OB-GYN program presence, physician attitudes, and colposcopy/cryotherapy training.

Main Results:

• 93% of responding family practice programs teach colposcopy.
• Programs perceiving positive community obstetrician-gynecologist attitudes were more likely to teach colposcopy (100%) and cryotherapy (91%).
• Programs perceiving negative attitudes still taught colposcopy (85.5%) and cryotherapy (71%), indicating some training occurs despite perceived opposition. Co-located OB-GYN programs showed no significant influence.

Conclusions:

• Negative perceptions of community obstetrician-gynecologists' attitudes may discourage family practice programs from teaching colposcopy and related therapies.
• The presence of a co-located OB-GYN residency program appears to mitigate this dissuasive effect.
• Family practice residency programs' decisions to teach colposcopy are influenced by perceived specialty attitudes, but not by the presence of an OB-GYN residency.