Women's Health Curriculum

Medical students often have limited exposure to women's health issues, particularly during the preclinical years. Currently medical education is based largely on studies conducted mainly on male subjects and many important women's health issues are overlooked. My efforts for this year will focus on addressing this need through:

• Assessing which areas of women's health students have been exposed to in the basic-science years.
• Gathering reliable/accurate educational information to specifically address overlooked topics.
• Providing modules for both self study and for use as discussion generating tools, to hopefully stimulate interest in women's health issues at different levels of medical education.

WOMEN'S HEALTHCARE AND CURRICULUM RESOURCES

---

Women's Health Care Competencies for Medical Students

In order to address curricular gaps and redundancies in women's health care training in the current medical school curriculum, the Women's Healthcare Education Office (WHEO) was created through the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO).

WHEO, along with the efforts of several other organizations focusing on women's health issues, formed the Interdisciplinary Women's Health Care Education (IWHCE) SIG. The purpose of the IWHCE SIG is to promote interdisciplinary curricular development and implementation in undergraduate women's health care education. WHEO developed the Women's Healthcare Education Resource Network on the APGO website as an aid in achieving its goal. The purpose of the Resource Network is to provide members, as well as others interested in women's health care education, access to information on specific models, including integrated models, separate courses, both, or any other innovative curriculum that an institution has put into place to incorporate women's health.

EIGHT CORE WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE COMPETENCIES

---

1. Explain sex and gender differences in normal development and pathophysiology as they apply to prevention and management of diseases.
   
   
2. Effectively communicate with patients, demonstrating awareness of gender and cultural differences.
   
   
3. Perform a sex-, gender-, and age-appropriate physical examination.
   
   
4. Discuss the impact of gender-based societal and cultural roles, and context on health care and on women.
   
   
5. Identify and assist victims of physical, emotional, and sexual violence and abuse.
   
   
6. Assess and counsel women for sex- and gender- appropriate reduction of risk, including lifestyle changes and genetic testing.
   
   
7. Access and critically evaluate new information and adopt best practices that incorporate knowledge of sex and gender differences in health and disease.
   
   
8. Discuss the impact of health care delivery systems on populations and individuals receiving health care.

AMSA Women's Health Guide and Curriculum Announcements
Resources from the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP)

A Medical Student's Guide to Improving Reproductive Health Curricula (PDF)

This guide is intended to help medical students improve reproductive health curricula at medical schools, particularly when used in conjunction with the Reproductive Health Model Curriculum. Originally published with Medical Students for Choice in 1999, ARHP will update the Guide for 2005 with added links and updated contact information.

 

For more information, contact Jen Hurlburt, ARHP program manager, at jhurlburt@arhp.org or (202) 466-3825.

 

Reproductive Health Model Curriculum, 2nd Edition

The Curriculum is a comprehensive seven-module resource designed to help fill education and training gaps in reproductive health education for future health care providers. The Curriculum can be used to advocate for improvements in your school's curriculum or as a self-study tool. The second edition includes late-breaking information and updated medical content, including links to thousands of articles and Web sites, educational tools, and organizations. Curriculum modules include: Implementation Guide, Psychosocial Factors, Communication, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Primary Care for Infertility, Contraception, and Abortion. Click the link above to download this free resource.

 

For more information, contact Jen Hurlburt, ARHP program manager, at jhurlburt@arhp.org or (202) 466-3825.

U.S. Federal Government

• National Women's Health Information Center
• The Office on Women's Health - HHS
• The National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health Program
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Women's Health (OWH)
• CDC Health Topic: Women's Health
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) Women's Health Initiative
• The Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)

Associations - Organizations

• Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
• American Medical Women's Association
• Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
• National Women's Health Network
• National Women's Health Resource Center, Inc. (NWHRC)
• National Association for Women's Health

Medical School - Medical Center Sites

• Medical College of Wisconsin HealthLink Womens' Health
• The IU National Center of Excellence in Women's Health
• Magee-Womens Research Institute
• Women's Health Program at the University of Michigan Health System

Womens' Health Institutes And Research

• The Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
• Women's Health Research Center
• Black Women's Health Imperative
• World Health Organization Womens' Health
• Society for Women's Health Research
• Global Alliance for Women's Health (GAWH)