Keeping It Legal: Empowering Physicians and Trainees Through the Creation of State-specific Legal Primers.

State policies on obstetrics and gynecology issues vary widely across the nation and dramatically affect the care physicians can offer depending on where they practice. A 2020 study demonstrates that many obstetrics and gynecology residents surveyed across the United States felt that their exposure to medical-legal topics was limited. The purpose of this initiative was to create legal primers on state-specific laws regarding obstetric and gynecologic care and evaluate their educational utility for residents and attendings across specialties. Ten primers with relevant Virginia state laws and their clinical relevance were created on the following topics: adolescent rights, emergency contraception, expedited partner therapy, mandatory reporting situations, close-in-age exemptions, medical students performing pelvic examinations, abortion, transgender rights, and paternity rights. The primers were presented to residents and attendings in obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, and emergency medicine. Knowledge pretests and posttests were administered, with an opinion survey on comfort level of topics to assess usefulness of the primers. A total of 49 participants from obstetrics and gynecology and emergency medicine participated in the project. Participants from family medicine were presented the primers before data collection. The mean change in pretest-posttest scores was 3.6 of 10 (SD 1.8, P <.001). A total of 97.9% of participants found the primers very helpful or somewhat helpful. Participants reported an increased comfort level on all 10 topics after participating. Anecdotally, many residents and attendings referenced the primers afterward in clinical situations to guide their practice. State-specific legal primers are useful learning tools for understanding the nuances of laws regarding obstetric and gynecologic care. These primers can be used as quick resources for providers in difficult clinical situations. They can also be modified to reflect other state laws to reach a wider audience. Copyright © 2023 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Shalini Subbarao, Katherine Latimer, Carolyn Davis, Emily Marko. Keeping It Legal: Empowering Physicians and Trainees Through the Creation of State-specific Legal Primers. Obstetrics and gynecology. 2023 Jun 01;141(6):1225-1226

PMID: 37141596

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