A review of medical and allied health learnersʹ satisfaction with their training in womenʹs health

Objective: Graduating learners from Oregon Health and Sciences University programs and from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine were surveyed about their attitudes toward their training in womenʹs health. Study design: The survey addressed learner satisfaction with training in womenʹs health, their preferred learning methods, and their clinical comfort in managing 17 clinical problems. The survey addressed knowledge of complementary and alternative medicine. Results: Satisfaction with training in womenʹs health varied by program. Satisfaction increased with increasing proportion of women seen during training. Clinical confidence scores increased with increasing proportion of women seen during training. Physical assault and breast disease were areas of least clinical confidence. All groups preferred learning in clinical rather than didactic settings. Experience with alternative and complementary medicine was very limited except among naturopathic students. Conclusions: Areas of common educational need were identified among a variety of learners. This information will assist educators in designing multidisciplinary programs to meet the needs of this diverse group. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2002;186:1259-67.)