Fitting contraceptive diaphragms: can laywomen provide quality training for doctors?
OBJECTIVE
To test the feasibility of training laywomen as professional patients to teach doctors to fit the contraceptive diaphragm.


METHODS
Semi-structured interviews with instructing doctors and questionnaires to DFFP trainees. These documented current teaching practice and the acceptability of professional patients. The Delphi technique was used to establish a curriculum for the professional patients' training programme.


RESULTS
The results show that there is currently a lack of standardisation in teaching methods and content with respect to diaphragm fitting. All instructing doctors and DFFP trainees involved had experienced difficulties in recruiting women for training, and the majority would be happy to work with professional patients. After three rounds of the Delphi procedure, consensus was reached and a curriculum developed. Five women were recruited on to a training programme, and four successfully completed it.


CONCLUSIONS
Lack of standardisation and difficulty recruiting patients are current problems when training doctors to fit diaphragms. Our study shows that the use of professional patients would be acceptable to both DFFP trainees and instructing doctors, and that it is possible to recruit and train women for this purpose.
Pickard
S
S
Department of Reproductive Health, Community Health South London NHS Trust, St Giles Road, London SE5 7RN, UK.
Baraitser
P
P
Herns
M
M
Massil
H
H
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003267:Contraception; D003274:Contraceptive Devices, Female; D003479:Curriculum; D003697:Delphi Technique; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000379:methods*; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D018579:Patient Selection