title: Establishing Consensus on Residency Education in Women's Health.
abstract: Internal medicine residents are expected to be able to provide gender-specific care. The objective of this study was to develop a consensus list of core topics and procedural skills in women's health to allow residency program directors to prioritize and standardize educational efforts in women's health.
  
  
  
  We conducted a two-round Delphi of women's health experts. Participants were given a list of topics and asked to: (1) rank each topic based on how important they felt each topic was for internal medicine residents to be proficient in upon graduation, and (2) identify which topics were critical for a women's health curriculum. Mean importance ratings for all topics and mean agreement ratings for the critical topics were calculated. The list of critical topics mirrored the list of important topics; therefore, our consensus list included any topic that received a mean importance rating of ≥4.
  
  
  
  Of the 41 experts invited to participate, 46% (19) completed the first round with 100% (19/19) completing the second round. The majority (62.5%, n = 35) of topics received an importance rating of ≥4. The highest-ranking topics included cervical cancer screening, screening for osteoporosis, and diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections (mean rating of 4.95/each). Other highly rated topics included those related to contraception/reproductive planning, breast disease, menopause, and performing the breast and pelvic examinations. The diagnosis of gender-specific conditions was generally rated as more important than the management of the conditions. In addition, pregnancy-related topics were overall deemed as less important for internal medicine training.
  
  
  
  Our study generated a consensus list of 35 core topics in women's heath that should serve as a guide to residency programs for the development of women's health curricula.
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.|2 Veterans Administration Pittsburgh Healthcare System , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Amy H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Farkas
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tilstra
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.|2 Veterans Administration Pittsburgh Healthcare System , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.|3 Center for Women's Health Research and Innovation , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Sonya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Borrero
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.|3 Center for Women's Health Research and Innovation , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McNeil
mesh_terms: D032921:Consensus; D003479:Curriculum; D003697:Delphi Technique; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D005104:Expert Testimony; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000193:education*; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008875:Middle Aged; D010414:Pennsylvania; D016387:Women's Health
keywords: graduate medical education; residency education; women's health