Objectives: RHEDI, Reproductive Health Education in Family Medicine, supports family medicine residency programs to establish a required rotation in reproductive health, including abortion and comprehensive family planning. To evaluate the long-term effects of this training, we examined the practice patterns of family physicians two to five years after residency graduation.
Methods: 763 family physicians who completed residency training from 2015 through 2018 at programs with routine abortion training were invited to complete an anonymous online survey about residency training and current provision of abortion and other reproductive health services.
Results: 298 respondents completed the survey, for a response rate of 39%. Of the eligible respondents who received routine abortion training during residency (n=249), 29% had provided abortion after residency and 21% had done so in the past year. This rate is much higher than the 3% rate found in a recent representative study of family physicians1. More respondents had provided medication than aspiration abortion, 28% vs 20%, and those who trained in abortion within family medicine settings, as compared to only at high volume settings, were significantly more likely to have provided abortion after residency. In addition, over 80% of respondents also provided a range of LARC and miscarriage management services.1. Patel P Narayana S et al. Abortion Provision Among Recently Graduated Family Physicians. Fam Med. 2020 Nov;52(10):724-729.
Conclusions: Abortion training during residency is strongly linked to post-residency abortion provision, and is crucial in preparing family physicians to meet the full range of their patients’ reproductive health care needs.
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