title: Oxford School of Sexual Medicine: how are we doing?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Since 2007, the European Society of Sexual Medicine has held an annual 2-week educational residential program at Oxford. The Oxford School of Sexual Medicine provides knowledge and skills learning opportunities for healthcare professionals.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the current study was to evaluate the impact of Oxford School courses on the daily practice and medical careers of fellows from different countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  All participants in the Oxford School programs were invited to anonymously complete a self-administered questionnaire.
  
  
  METHODS
  The questionnaire comprised three sections: socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents; four Likert-scale score items inquiring about professional background; and 17 closed and two open questions to evaluate the impact of Oxford School on the respondents' practices. Differences in proportions of categorical variables between respondent subgroups were assessed using Pearson χ(2) test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the 54 fellows who participated in the study was 44 years (range 28-63 years), 71% were men and 29% were women. Fifty (92%) were physicians, two (4%) psychologists, and two (4%) were sex therapists. Following participation in the Oxford School course, significantly more participants reported spending 50% or more of their clinical time practicing sexual medicine than prior to the course (59% [32] vs. 27% [15], P < 0.001, Figure 1); and significantly more reported spending 50% or more of their working time in clinical research (54% [29] vs. 33% [18], P < 0.001, Figure 2). Forty-six fellows (85%) reported current participation in teaching activities, compared with only 29 (54%) prior to participating in the Oxford School course.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Educational activities in sexual medicine, such as the Oxford School, may contribute to the advancement of clinical practice, teaching activities, and clinical research of healthcare providers who are interested in sexual medicine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Lior
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lowenstein
authors.forename: Yacov
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Reisman
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tripodi
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: Arik
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shechter
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Porst
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians; D015397:Program Evaluation; D060728:Reproductive Health / Q000193:education; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Education; Sexual Medicine; Survey; Training Program