FAMILY-PLANNING - WHAT NEEDS TO BE TAUGHT - A VIEW FROM GENERAL-PRACTICE IN THE WEST MIDLANDS, UK

This study defined and tested an extended curriculum for family planni ng training in general practice. The study built on the existing curri culum from the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care . Using a Delphi technique the curriculum was extended in three areas, of knowledge, skills and attitudes (the last missing entirely from th e existing curriculum). Once defined the extended curriculum was teste d on trainees and trainers in general practice in the West Midlands. T he hypotheses were that all would support the new curriculum, that tra iners would support a wider curriculum, especially attitudes, than tra inees, and that doctors with the certificate/diploma in family plannin g would also support a wider curriculum. The method was a postal quest ionnaire of 23 items of the curriculum, using a five point Likert scal e for each item. Statistical testing using t-tests compared the traine rs' and the trainees' responses, the old versus the new curriculum, an d certificated and non-certificated doctors' responses. The study grou p consisted of 404 doctors (291 trainers and 113 trainees). The respon ses were from 365 doctors (90 per cent response rate) which included 2 68 trainers (92 per cent response rate) and 96 trainees (85 per cent r esponse rate). All doctors' groups rejected the new additional knowled ge and skills categories, namely infertility, psychosexual problems an d dealing with teenagers. There were no significant differences betwee n trainers and trainees here, nor certificated and non-certificated do ctors. All groups supported the new attitudinal categories, with some of the highest scores of all categories. These were confidentiality, r espect for patients' sexual practices, empowering the patient to choos e contraceptive method, sexual needs of disabled people, and knowing w hen out of one's depth. This study has identified a gap in teaching an d learning of several attitudes in family planning training in general practice, as well as raising doubts about the current methods of asse ssment in family planning proficiency.