"We're called upon to be nonjudgmental": A qualitative exploration of United States medical students' discussions of abortion as a reflection of their professionalism.

Autor: Merz AA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States., Janiak E; Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States., Mokashi M; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States., Allen RH; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Providence, RI, United States., Jackson C; Department of Strategic Planning and Institutional Effectiveness, Massachusetts Bay Community College, Framingham, MA, United States., Berkowitz L; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States., Steinauer J; Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, San Francisco, CA, United States., Bartz D; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States. Electronic address: dbartz@bwh.harvard.edu.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Contraception [Contraception] 2022 Feb; Vol. 106, pp. 57-63. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Sep 14.
DOI: 10.1016/j.contraception.2021.09.004
Abstrakt: Objectives: Medical educators may assess learners' professionalism through clinical scenarios eliciting value conflicts - situations in which an individual's values differ from others' perceived values. We examined the extent to which United States (US) medical students' discussion of abortion highlights their professionalism according to the 6 American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) professionalism competencies.
Study Design: We conducted anonymous, semistructured qualitative interviews with 74 US medical students applying to OB/GYN residency. Interviews explored attitudes toward abortion and abortion case vignettes. We analyzed interview transcripts using directed content analysis for alignment with the AAMC professionalism competencies: humanism, patient needs superseding self-interest, patient autonomy, physician accountability, sensitivity to diverse populations, and commitment to ethical principles.
Results: Students' genders, races, religions, and geographic regions were diverse. Attitudes toward abortion varied, but all students commented on themes related to at least 1 AAMC professionalism competency when discussing abortion care. Statements demonstrating students' humanism, prioritization of patient autonomy, and sense of physician accountability were common. Most comments reflected positive professionalism practices, regardless of personal views on abortion or provision intentions; very few students made statements that were not aligned with the AAMC professionalism competencies.
Conclusions: All students in this study exhibited professionalism when discussing abortion, regardless of personal views on abortion or intention to provide this care. Case-based discussions involving abortion could be used to explore professionalism competencies among medical learners.
Implications: Discussing abortion has the potential to elicit values conflict, which enables learners to exhibit professionalism. Case-based abortion education should be included in medical school curricula to measure medical professionalism in future physicians, and to serve as a tool for teaching professionalism in medical school.
(Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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