title: Evaluation of ethics education in obstetrics and gynecology residency programs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the study was to assess the current status of ethics education in obstetrics-gynecology residency programs.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional, web-based survey was designed in conjunction with a professional survey laboratory at the University of Chicago. The survey was piloted with a convenience sample of clinical medical ethics fellows to assess question content and clarity. The survey was deployed by e-mail to all obstetrics-gynecology residency program directors. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze participant responses. The University of Chicago's Institutional Review Board deemed this study exempt from institutional review board formal review.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 242 eligible obstetrics-gynecology residency program directors, 118 (49%) completed the survey. Most respondents were from university-based programs (n = 78, 66%) that were not religiously affiliated (n = 98, 83%) and trained 4-6 residents per postgraduate year (n = 64, 70%). Although 50% of program directors (n = 60) reported having ethics as part of their core curriculum, most programs teach ethics in an unstructured manner. Fifty-seven percent of respondents (n = 66) stated their program dedicated 5 or fewer hours per year to ethics. The majority of program directors (n = 80, 73%) responded they would like more to a lot more ethics education and believed that ethics education should be required (n = 93, 85%) for residents to complete their training. Respondents identified that crowding in the curriculum was a significant barrier to increased ethics training (n = 50, 45%) and two-thirds (n = 74, 67%) reported a lack of faculty expertise as a moderate barrier to providing ethics education in the residency curriculum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study found that a lack of structured curricula, inadequate faculty expertise, and limited time were important barriers for ethics education in obstetrics-gynecology programs across the nation. Despite these existing challenges, program directors have a strong interest in increasing ethics education in residency training. Therefore, additional resources are needed to assist program directors in enhancing resident ethics education.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Byrne
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Straub
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL; MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: DiGiovanni
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL; MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. Electronic address: jchormd@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chor
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003479:Curriculum / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003625:Data Collection; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004992:Ethics, Medical / Q000193:education*; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D005260:Female; D006176:Gynecology / Q000193:education* / Q000941:ethics; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000193:education* / Q000941:ethics; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014481:United States
keywords: ethics education; obstetrics-gynecology residency programs