Impact of a Student-Run Free Clinic's Women's Health Program on Perceived Readiness for Clinical Rotations.

Abstract

Women's health is only briefly explored in the preclerkship medical curriculum. Volunteering in student-run free clinics (SRFCs) increases clinical confidence; such service learning could bridge the gap between limited curricular offerings and student desire for exposure to women's health topics. This study aimed to identify weaknesses in the women's health preclerkship curriculum, build an educational intervention, and explore SRFCs as a teaching tool. We performed chart review of SRFC female patients to evaluate care. We held student focus groups to elicit feedback about the established curriculum. Based on this information, we devised a workshop to review practical skills. Participants attended the workshop, volunteered at SRFC, and completed surveys preintervention and at 3 months postintervention. A control group completed baseline and follow-up surveys. We invited all 151 second-year students to participate; six attended the workshop and 21 served as control. There were no baseline differences between groups regarding age, prior experience with women's health, confidence in relevant skills, and subjective readiness for clinical rotations; the control group had more men. After the workshop, intervention participants reported increased confidence in women's health-related skills and in readiness for the OB/GYN rotation. Gains persisted at 3 months. Three of six students in the workshop group volunteered at SRFC; three of 12 in the control group volunteered. The addition of an interactive workshop to the existing preclinical curriculum on women's health has lasting impact on subjective readiness for clinical clerkships. SRFC may be a useful addition to classroom learning. This initiative is student-led and reproducible, and could serve as an adjunct to established preclerkship curriculum.