Structured Teaching of Early Pregnancy Loss Counseling.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate whether a novel structured curriculum could significantly improve medical student performance in early pregnancy loss counseling.

BACKGROUND: Medical students receive limited exposure to early pregnancy loss counseling through real-life observation of this important skill.

METHODS: A pre-post control group design was used to examine early pregnancy loss counseling performance among medical students from two medical schools doing their obstetrics and gynecology rotations at the same community hospital. The study outcomes were: (1) pre-post differences in Standardized Patient Objective Structured Clinical Examination scores; (2) pre-post differences in student confidence levels; and (3) postdifferences in standardized patient empathy ratings. Both groups had similar demographics, academic parameters, and longitudinal curricula. The study group (N=39) received a curriculum of demonstration and role-playing for delivering bad news and a shared decision-making model for early pregnancy loss management. The control group (N=38) received traditional instruction.

RESULTS: Standardized Patient Objective Structured Clinical Examination posttest scores were significantly higher for the study group compared with the control group (94.2% compared with 69.7%, P<.001) after starting with similar pretest scores (64.0% compared with 61.6%, P=.53). Posttest confidence levels (1=high, 5=low) were significantly higher for the study compared with the control group (1.57 compared with 3.62, P<.001) after starting at similar levels (4.27 compared with 4.23, P=.79). Standardized patient empathy ratings (1=high, 5=low) were significantly higher for the study compared with the control group (1.84 compared with 2.62, P=.002).

CONCLUSION: A structured curriculum for teaching early pregnancy loss counseling improved student performance on standardized Objective Structured Clinical Examinations compared with traditional instruction. Providing these counseling tools improved their confidence and empathy ratings in caring for patients with early pregnancy loss.