Medical students on their obstetrics and gynaecology attachment were r
andomly assigned to attend hospital (n = 24) or general practice (n =
18) obstetric clinics once weekly for 4 weeks. The students completed
self-assessment questionnaires at the beginning and end of the attachm
ent. There was a significant improvement in the level of knowledge and
skills required for antenatal care, care in labour and postnatal care
by the end of the attachment, with no difference between hospital or
general practice groups. There was a significant increase in the level
of interest in the future practice of obstetrics only in the general
practice group. However, this difference could be explained by the gre
ater number of students in the general practice group who were by chan
ce in the 'no or don't know' category at the start of their attachment
. We conclude that general practice based clinical teaching of obstetr
ics can be a suitable alternative to hospital-based clinical teaching
for undergraduate medical students.