Family Medicine Residency Training: Women's Health Services

[Scoobs11]

I am a first-year medical student trying to make informed decisions about which specialty I choose (as we all are). I am leaning heavily towards family medicine and know that I want to work in primary care in the future. I am trying to decide between family and internal medicine. Because I am very interested in providing at least basic women's health services, I am under the impression that this may be easier through family medicine. I would also like to have the option to provide basic abortion services in the first trimester. After doing some preliminary research online, it appears that abortion training is not necessarily part of all family medicine residency curricula. I also read this article and am wondering what the heck is going on....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2019/01/04/feature/i-wanted-to-provide-abortions-for-my-patients-my-med-school-wouldnt-teach-me-how/

Thoughts? Advice? I would love to hear from actual family medicine residents in a variety of states. I am attending school in the state of Georgia.

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[ciestar]

It isnt even part of training in a lot of OB/GYN programs.

Ive interviewed at 10 FM programs so far, only a few offer family planning training.

 

[deleted480308]

It is not the norm for FM to learn abortion as part of their curriculum

 

[Scoobs11]

It isnt even part of training in a lot of OB/GYN programs.

Ive interviewed at 10 FM programs so far, only a few offer family planning training.

What states were the programs with the family planning training located in?
I found this resource Family Medicine Residencies with Abortion Training – RHEDI

It looks like the South is sadly misrepresented with training opportunities. Big surprise there, I guess.

 

[ciestar]

What states were the programs with the family planning training located in?
I found this resource Family Medicine Residencies with Abortion Training – RHEDI

It looks like the South is sadly misrepresented with training opportunities. Big surprise there, I guess.

Philadelphia and surrounding area. Central PA is much like the south.

 

[AMEHigh]

Feel free to PM me. I have lots of advice I can give.

 

[Enzyme100]

Yikes. You're a first year med student and one of your main purposes for going into medicine is to do abortions?

 

[ciestar]

Yikes. You're a first year med student and one of your main purposes for going into medicine is to do abortions?

Where on earth did you derive that?

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

Find a women's health heavy program. If they teach you to manage miscarriages it's a pretty easy step to providing first trimester abortions.

 

[UWIdahoan]

It isnt even part of training in a lot of OB/GYN programs.

Ive interviewed at 10 FM programs so far, only a few offer family planning training.

Abortions are actually a procedural requirement for all OB/GYN residencies, just like hysterectomies.

As said above, managing first trimester miscarriages is quite similar to first trimester abortions, but I would look for a mentor in residency to make sure you have adequate training and will be well educated on when you may need help from a specialist. This isn't particularly something to worry about now.

 

[ciestar]

Abortions are actually a procedural requirement for all OB/GYN residencies, just like hysterectomies.

As said above, managing first trimester miscarriages is quite similar to first trimester abortions, but I would look for a mentor in residency to make sure you have adequate training and will be well educated on when you may need help from a specialist. This isn't particularly something to worry about now.

Funny how people I know going into OB have interviewed at programs that have no family planning training..