Effectiveness of a 2-year menopause medicine curriculum for obstetrics and gynecology residents.
OBJECTIVE
Previous work has shown American obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) residents are lacking in menopause training. Our objective was to assess the effectiveness of a 2-year menopause medicine curriculum in improving OB/GYN residents' knowledge and self-assessed competency in menopause topics.


METHODS
We developed a menopause medicine-teaching curriculum for OB/GYN residents at our academic hospital-based residency program. The 2-year curriculum was composed of year 1: four 1-hour lectures and one 2-hour lab with cases presentations, and year 2: three 1-hour lectures and one 2-hour lab. Core topics included menopause physiology, hormone therapy, breast health, bone health, cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune disease. Pre- and posttests assessed resident knowledge and comfort in core topics, and a pre- and postcurriculum survey assessed utility and learning satisfaction.


RESULTS
From July 2011 to June 2013, 34 OB/GYN residents completed the menopause curriculum annually with an average attendance at each module of 23 residents. Pre-/posttest scores improved from a mean pretest score of 57.3% to a mean posttest score of 78.7% (P < 0.05). Before the curriculum, most residents did not feel comfortable managing menopause patients with 75.8% reporting feeling "barely comfortable" and 8.4% feeling "not at all comfortable." After the 2-year curriculum, 85.7% reported feeling "comfortable/very comfortable" taking care of menopause patients. The majority of residents (95.2%) reported the menopause curriculum was "extremely useful."


CONCLUSIONS
A 2-year menopause medicine curriculum for OB/GYN residents utilizing lectures and a lab with case studies is an effective modality to improve resident knowledge required to manage menopause patients.
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
Mindy S
MS
Christianson
Chantel I
CI
Washington
Katherine I
KI
Stewart
Wen
W
Shen
D003479:Curriculum; D005260:Female; D006176:Gynecology / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008593:Menopause; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000193:education*; D014481:United States; D016387:Women's Health