TRAINING SKILLS

Becoming a reproductive health trainer can be exciting, challenging, and most of all, rewarding. As you help learners develop and refine important clinical skills, you also have the opportunity to teach about other critical aspects of reproductive health, such as the nuances of person-centered care, word choice, trauma-informed care, intersectionality, and cultural humility. As a trainer, you will also build relationships within the reproductive health community and help address stigma associated with abortion provision. In states facing post-Roe abortion bans, it will be important to consider training opportunities for clinicians with reduced access to abortion and potentially contraception training, as well as to include education about the addressing the needs of patients self-managing abortion (Minkoff 2019).

VALUES CLARIFICATION AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

It is best to introduce the process of values clarification with each learner before or at the start of their reproductive health training (see NAF Values Clarification Guide).

• Encourage new trainees to read Chapters 1 and 2 before training to clarify their personal values about pregnancy options and abortion in the context of professional judgments they will be called upon to make.
• Remind trainees of their professional responsibilities regardless of their beliefs.
• Teach how gaining experience in abortion provision can address stigma, thereby impacting clinical practice (Harris 2011).
• Encourage trainees to shadow a patient through the counseling and abortion processes, to experience a patient’s perspective before getting into care provision.