SUMMARY POINTS
SKILL
- Introduce trainees to the process of values clarification prior to or early in patient contact. Consider changing training opportunities in the setting of post-Roe legal constraints.
- Review learning expectations and procedural skills each session with trainees.
- Teach opt-out trainees core skills of pregnancy dating, early ultrasound, pregnancy options, contraceptive counseling, EPL, management of abortion and / or EPL complications, and when to refer.
- Distinguish recommendations based on current evidence, legal setting, and those based on provider preference. Acknowledge inter-provider variability.
- Learn to manage competing priorities in a busy clinic, including patient support and safety, clinic flow, and training learners with different skills and interests.
- Give the trainee the first opportunity at self-evaluation and offer positive reinforcement before constructive criticism in a specific and timely fashion.
- Encourage trainees to log questions, observations, interesting cases and issues encountered so that they may revisit them during their training experience.
SAFETY
- Be aware of clinic policy and process for trainee involvement in abortion care. Prioritize patient safety: set a plan and designate specific cues to prompt a trainee should you need to take over the procedure for safety or patient comfort.
- Review elements of consent for the abortion procedure and sedation with each trainee.
- Progressively involve a new trainee in the procedure as they gain confidence and demonstrate competence.
- Discuss the management of potential complications ahead of time.
ROLE
- Train new providers as part of a collaborative national effort to normalize abortion and address the abortion provider shortage.
- Model values of person-centered care: consent, bodily autonomy, evidence-based options, and freedom from persuasion or coercion.
- Consider and discuss power dynamics between trainer and trainee as well as between providers and patients. Uplift individuals historically marginalized in healthcare settings.