Gynecologists and Obstetricians Prefer Practical Training; A Need to Revisit Continuing Medical Education Program

To investigate the preferred method and education subjects among gynecologists and obstetricians to find the gaps between the current and expected states of continuing medical education (CME).

An online self-administered questionnaire was sent to Iranian gynecologists and obstetricians. Three main parts of the questionnaire were demographic information, general skills such as stress management, legal knowledge, and documentation, and specialized skills such as medical and surgical management. The level of clinical capability, the need for further training, and the preferred training method, virtual, theoretical, or bedside in private or academic centers, were asked and reported.

Two hundred and eighty-six general gynecologists and obstetricians participated in this survey. The majority (87.3%) of them were not academic staff. Nearly 70% of the participants could perform common procedures in obstetrics, general gynecology, infertility, oncology, and urogynecology, although more than two-thirds felt they needed more training. The lowest level of preparedness was in urogynecology skills, while the highest level of educational needs was reported in infertility. Surprisingly, the preferred method of education for the most specialized skills was bedside training in academic centers.

Despite time constraints and COVID-19 restrictions, most clinicians are keen to receive more education, and in most cases, their preferred method is bedside training in academic centers. Therefore, proper strategic planning based on different fields of obstetrics and gynecology to design practical and bedside CME courses seems necessary.