Resident training goals in obstetrics and gynecology for the 1980’s: Presidential address

Abstract

Residency training goals and manpower needs in the 1980's and beyond should bear a consistent relationship. Projections for supply and demand for obstetrics and gynecology and for those medical specialties with overlapping responsibilities, though fraught with uncertainties, suggest that currently approved training programs in obstetrics and gynecology will meet clinical manpower needs for 1990. The role of the obstetrician-gynecologist in the primary care of women will be increasingly shared with others and the trend in urban areas for task delegation seems likely to increase. The popular and pervasive emphasis on primary care carries with it the serious risk that the present shortage of qualified investigators may not be corrected in the next decade. This could seriously hamper our efforts to recruit new faculty and maintain quality in our training programs.