Family medicine
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The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant changes to the US residency application process for medical school graduates. Due to the lack of in-person activities, family medicine programs have utilized various social media platforms to connect with their applicants. In this paper, we describe how family medicine residency programs have adapted for the 2021 application cycle by using social media platforms. ⋯ Family medicine residency programs have adapted to the challenges that came with the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing social media outreach, particularly through Instagram. This has allowed residency programs to virtually communicate with prospective applicants during an unprecedented application cycle.
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Transgender persons face many barriers to accessing health care, including identifying a knowledgeable physician. Medical schools have made curricular changes addressing cultural competence in transgender medicine, but changes are inadequate to graduate physicians competent in gender-affirming health care. The aim of this study was to assess the current state of education on the comprehensive health care of transgender patients, including gender-affirming health care (GAH) strategies (hormone therapy, surgical interventions) in US and Canadian family medicine clerkships (FM clerkships) in addition to the beliefs and actions of the directors making those curricular decisions. ⋯ FM clerkships are primed for inclusion of comprehensive transgender and GAH education in their curriculum. Increasing comfort of FM clerkship directors in teaching this subject area by providing accessible curriculum may encourage further uptake of this content into FM clerkships.
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Community-based residency programs are an important strategy to address rural and underserved primary care shortages, however, health centers report both benefits and challenges to training. This study aims to understand the impact of new Teaching Health Center (THC) residency programs on health center staffing, patient service, quality of care, and provider productivity. ⋯ New residency programs are associated with increased provider recruitment, expanded patient service, and some improved health outcomes, but also with potential decreased provider productivity in health centers.
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In the United States, 89% of counties have no clinics providing abortion care. Though training residents increases intention to provide abortion care, rates of postresidency abortion provision are low. This study, conducted at one family medicine residency program in the Southwest United States, examines graduates' postresidency practice of abortion care in the context of their intent to provide during residency training. ⋯ This study provides information about the themes associated with changing intentions and practice of abortion care, which may help elucidate new strategies for training residents to anticipate and address challenges to postresidency provision. The study also provides some insight into residents with no intention to provide abortion care in residency who develop an intention to provide abortion care after graduation, which is a group of people for whom there is little information.
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Clinical teachers (or preceptors) have expressed uncertainties about medical student expectations and how to assess them. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) created a list of core skills that graduating medical students should be able to perform. Using this framework, this innovation was designed to provide medical students specific, progressive clinical skills training that could be observed. ⋯ The OPA cards enable outpatient preceptors to document student progress toward graduated skill acquisition. In addition, the OPA cards provide preceptors and students with specific tasks, expectations, and a template for directly observed, competency-based feedback. The majority of preceptors found the OPA cards easy to use and did not disrupt their clinical work. In addition, both students and preceptors found the cards to be helpful to understand expectations of a third-year medical student in our course. The OPA cards could be adapted by other schools to evaluate progressive skill development throughout the year.