Knowing is Seeing: Biography Cards to Facilitate Students Seeing Patients in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Tara A. Singh, MD1,2; Kathleen F. Harney, MD1,2; Allison E. Seitchik, PhD3; John L. Dalrymple, MD2,4; David A. Hirsh, MD, FACP1,2
Affiliations: 1Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA, USA; 2Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; 3Merrimack College, North Andover, MA, USA; 4Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Analysis: We used logistic regression analyses to predict acceptance rates from survey responses.
Patient Results
- Seeing the card (Wald 𝜒2 = 7.67, p = .006) and having seen a student before (Wald 𝜒2 = 6.83, p = .033) significantly predicted acceptance of the student.
- Patients who saw a student before were 9.96 times (95% CI: 1.08, 92.10) more likely to include a student.
- Patients report they were happy to have student participation (M = 3.24/4), valued participation (M = 3.27/4), and stated students improved the quality of their care (M = 3.12/4) and experience (M = 3.13/4).
- Age, ethnicity, and being a new patient did not predict patient acceptance of students.
- For professional development, medical students must engage directly with patients clinically.
- Student participation in clinics depends on patient acceptance1, office staff acceptance, the preceptor engagement. Obstetrics & Gynecology (OBGYN) patients often decline student participation; male students report significantly more denials2.
- Patient experiences contribute to determining which students will choose OBGYN as a career.
- Thurman AR, Litts PL, O’Rourke K, Swift S. Patient acceptance of medical student participation in an outpatient obstetric/gynecologic clinic. J Reprod Med 2006 Feb;51(2):109-14.
- Jiang X, Altomare C, Egan JF, Tocco DB, Schnatz PF. The ObGyn clerkship: are students denied the opportunity to provide patient care and what is the role of gender? Conn Med. 2012;76(4):231-6.
Subjects and Setting: Harvard Medical Students and patients in OBGYN clinics
in a public hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance (Cambridge, MA, USA).
- Biography card and having seen a student previously were associated with significant increases in patients accepting students in ambulatory OBGYN settings.
- Increased student acceptance facilitates student participation, student satisfaction with patient care, and perhaps increases student career choice in OBGYN.
Student Results
- Students report increased patient acceptance after patients read their card.
- Students report patients were more likely to involve students when patients knew more about them.
- Students report they were more likely to consider a career in OBGYN if their patients saw them as integral to their care.
- To determine the rate of student participation in patient care after introduction of the biography card;
- To determine any association between the use of the card and patient satisfaction with student participation;
- To determine any association between the use of the card and student satisfaction with their OBGYN experiences in clinic.
Tabulated # patients who accepted/declined student participation
Creation of student biography cards
Registration presents cards; MAs ask about student participation
Patients invited to complete exit survey
Students log encounters & participation; students complete surveys
Thank you to Dr. Kim Kenton for your mentorship.
Hello! My name is Tiffany Minors and I am a second year medical student at Harvard. Born in Brooklyn to two wonderful Vincentian parents, I grew up surrounded by Caribbean culture and family. I was raised singing in my church and playing piano with my father, so I am a lover of great music. In my spare time, I enjoy playing tennis and volleyball, serving at my church, jamming with friends, and spending time with my ever growing family.