Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Department of Family Medicine and Community Health Duluth has offered the Obstetrical Longitudinal Course (OBLC) as an elective for first-year medical students since 1999. The objective of the OBLC Impact Survey was to assess the effectiveness of the course over the past 15 years. METHODS: A Qualtrics survey was emailed to participants enrolled in the course from 1999-2014. Data was compiled for the respondent group as a whole as well as four cohorts based on current level of training/practice. Cross-tabulations with Fisher’s exact test were applied and odds ratios calculated for factors affecting likelihood of eventual practice including obstetrics. RESULTS: Participation in the OBLC was successful in increasing exposure, awareness, and comfort in caring for obstetrical patients and feeling more prepared for the OB-GYN Clerkship. A total of 50.5% of course participants felt the OBLC influenced their choice of specialty. For participants who are currently physicians, 51% are practicing family medicine with obstetrics or OB-GYN. Of the cohort of family physicians, 65.2% made the decision whether to include obstetrics in practice during medical school. Odds ratios show the likelihood of practicing obstetrics is higher when participants have completed the OBLC and also are practicing in a rural community. CONCLUSIONS: Early exposure to obstetrics, as provided by the OBLC, appears to increase the likelihood of including obstetrics in practice, especially if eventual practice is in a rural community. This course may be a tool to help create a pipeline for future rural family physicians providing obstetrical care.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 720-724 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Family medicine |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| State | Published - Oct 2016 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health Award Number UL1TR000114. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Financial support was received from the HRSA Title VII Academic Administrative Units Grant 1999-2003. Presentations: (1) Poster on the OB Longitudinal Course Impact Survey at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Conference on Medical Student Education in Atlanta GA on February 5-8, 2015, (2) Poster on the OB Longitudinal Course Impact Survey at the MAFP Research Poster Day in Minneapolis MN on March 14, 2015, (3) Poster on the OB Longitudinal Course Impact Survey at the Best Practices in Medical Education Conference at the University of Minnesota Medical School on May 7, 2015, (4) Presentation synopsis of the OB Longitudinal Course Impact Study at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth campus Research Day on October 29, 2015. We are grateful to our past students and to Amy Seip, Department staff.
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