ATTITUDES, KNOWLEDGE, AND SKILLS OF INTERNAL-MEDICINE RESIDENTS REGARDING PRE-CONCEPTION CARE

Background. A questionnaire was designed based on current recommendati ons for pre-conception care and care of women at the time of diagnosis of pregnancy to evaluate internal medicine residents' attitudes, know ledge, and clinical management skills in the pre-conception care of he althy women and women who have chronic diseases during their reproduct ive years. Method. In early 1991, a self-administered questionnaire wa s distributed to 104 internal medicine residents at Cook County Hospit al, a large, inner-city public hospital. Statistical analysis included the use of chi-square comparison, Pearson correlation, and Student's t-test. Results. Seventy-nine of the residents completed questionnaire s. Their levels of knowledge and management skills regarding pre-conce ption care were relatively low compared with standard recommendations. The residents' attitudes, however, were favorable toward the importan ce of the topic. Residency training did not appear to improve the resi dents' management skills, as there was no significant difference in sk ills among the first-, second-, and third-year residents. Conclusion. That the residents' levels of knowledge and management skills were low (despite their favorable attitudes) suggests that the current curricu lum for primary care training in internal medicine needs to be revised to improve the readiness of residents to take care of women of reprod uctive age.