AN INTENSIVE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY MINI-SELECTIVE COURSE
IMPROVES SENIOR STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-CONFIDENCE
ABOUT WOMEN’S HEALTHCARE AND WOMEN’S HEALTH RESEARCH
A. Jonassen PhD, 2Emily Ferrara MA & 3Katharine O’Dell MSN, CNM 1Department of Physiology, 2Office of Medical Education & 3Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
Introduction and overview
Course schedule and topics
•Women’s health encompasses treatment and prevention of diseases,
Monday am: Sexual function and dysfunction – case
discussions
pm: Vagina Monologues – video and discussion;
Introduce project
Women’s Health mini-selective–format and
content
•Mini-selectives: Week-long electives for senior students; students
completing 4 different mini-selective courses receive a “credit” grade.
•Format: Small-group workshops, case discussions, demonstrations,
student/faculty/patient interactions.
•Student presentations: Students presented 20-30 minute talks on
any women’s health topic of their choice.
•Course content: Sexuality, contraception, assisted reproduction,
transgenderism, cancers, pelvic floor health, basic science/
epidemiology research, menopause, cardiovascular disease,
postpartum depression, medical uncertainty, ethics, accessing
literature, impact of culture and media on women’s health.
•Participants: Seven 4th year medical students, two graduate nursing
students and 19 faculty.
Course evaluations
Tessa discusses
sources of
androgens in
menopausal
women with
Margaret B.,
Karen, Margaret
C. and Athena.
•Written assessments: Students completed pre- and post-course
assessments of knowledge and self-confidence.
•Knowledge items: 25 items were “correct” (+1 point), “incorrect” (-1
point) or “don’t know” (0 points). Maximum score= 25 points.
•Self-confidence items: 24 items rated using a 7-point Likert scale.
Range–“not at all confident” (-3 points)  neutral (0 points)  “very
confident” (+3 points). Maximum=72 points, minimum=-72 points.
•Analysis of data: Students’ pre- and post-scores were compared
using paired t-tests.
•Student feedback: Students used 4-point Likert scales to indicate
level of agreement or disagreement with statements about content,
faculty, format, relevance, etc., of the course. Students provided written
comments on their reactions to the women’s health mini-selective.
Sexual function and dysfunction: Overview of female
sexuality, including case discussions, and a review of a variety of
mechanical, hormonal and behavioral sex therapies for women,
featuring a psychiatrist and gynecological nurse/midwife.
Vagina Monologues: Students watched a portion of Eve
Ensler’s HBO performance, discussed attitudes about women’s
sexuality, interfaces between art and medicine.
Tuesday am: Work on student independent projects
pm: Assisted reproduction: Clinical, ethical, patient
perspectives
Assisted Reproductive technology: An interdisciplinary
discussion of the medical, surgical, technological, ethical and
psychosocial issues attending assisted reproduction, with an
obstetrician/ gynecologist, medical ethicist, and patient.
disorders/body
image/popular press
• Post partum depression
• Breast cancer screening
• Endometriosis
• Sphere of women’s
influence in art, social
theories and their impact
on medicine
• Bone mineral
densitometry
• Androgens in
menopause
• Emergency
contraception
Diego and Holly discuss some of the
healthcare issues faced by transgendered
people
Ovarian cancer: A discussion about ovarian cancer from
multiple viewpoints, including cutting edge molecular biological
research, epidemiological assessments of risk factors and
patient care, featuring a researcher, an epidemiologist and a
gynecologic surgeon.
Thursday am: HRT; cardiovascular disease – emerging
ideas
pm: Pelvic floor health–gynecologic, neurologic,
behavioral views
HRT and cardiovascular disease: A clinical investigator and a
cardiologist discuss the latest information about women’s health
research and the impact of menopause and other risk factors on
cardiovascular disease in women.
Pelvic floor health: A multidisciplinary discussion of the pelvic
floor, including surgical, neurological, and behavioral interventions
to treat and prevent urinary incontinence, featuring a gynecologist,
a neurologist, a nurse and physical therapists.
Brenda presents
a case study
about breast
cancer
discussions”.
•“Dynamic learning environment with lots of opportunity to discuss
topics not usually brought up in training. Sexual dysfunction and
Vagina Monologues good example of this. Free rein on project also
encourages creative exploration of traditional topics.”
•“...the women’s health mini-selective provided a broad look at the
current issues that are controversial in women’s health. It was a good
place to start in terms of understanding the scientific and public
understanding of issues such as HRT, cardiovascular health and
ovarian cancer. It was also a great place to discuss some of the social
issues surrounding women’s health and sexuality in general. Overall,
it was an enjoyable, interesting and educational week.”
•“This was an eye-opening and interesting course. It was a great
week, I would highly recommend this mini-selective.”
•“The faculty were engaging, well-informed and interesting.”
•“All faculty were expert in their field. Very exciting to talk to them!”
Summary and conclusions
Wednesday am: Transgender Health Care–beyond
dualism
pm: Ovarian cancer–molecular biology, epidemiology,
treatment
Transgender Health care: A discussion of some of the unique
medical, legal, and psychosocial issues that are faced by
transgendered individuals who are seeking medical care, with an
endocrinologist and two transgendered patient/activists.
Course evaluation: highly favorable written
student feedback
•“Everything was very interesting... nice variety of topics and
• Adolescent eating
Tessa and Margaret B. listen as Olivia outlines the impact of art and
social influences on the evolution of women’s healthcare
Course evaluation: knowledge and selfconfidence about women’s health issues are
improved after completion of mini-selective
Knowledge
score + sem (max
score = 25)
disorders and conditions that are unique to, more prevalent among or
more serious in women and includes conditions for which there are
gender differences in risk factors, diagnoses or interventions.
•Women’s healthcare practitioners often encounter conflicting
recommendations about screening and treatment practices. Such
uncertainties emphasize the importance of basic and clinical research
studies that aim to enhance and optimize healthcare for women–and
reinforce the need to develop skills needed to interpret this research.
•Because medical curricula often lag behind current research findings
and treatment recommendations, a new mini-selective course focusing
on current issues in women’s healthcare and women’s health research
was offered to senior students in March 2002.
•The course emphasized (1) current and innovative practices in
women’s healthcare, (2) areas of uncertainty and controversy about
screening, prevention and treatment, and (3) ongoing basic,
epidemiological and clinical research that focuses on women’s health.
Friday am and pm: Student presentations on
diverse women’s health topics
Self-confidence
score + sem (max
score = 72)
1Julie
25
20
15
10
5
0
50
40
30
20
10
0
-10
** p < 0.01
Knowledge
before
Knowledge
after
** p < 0.01
confidence, and also on student feedback, the women’s health miniselective successfully introduced senior students to concepts in
women’s healthcare that they had not previously encountered.
•Students appreciated opportunities to discuss current controversies in
women’s health care and women’s health research with faculty experts.
•Students gained an appreciation of the important role that research
plays in informing the delivery of effective women’s health care.
•Each student gave an excellent Power Point presentation that would
be highly suitable to present again in upcoming residency settings.
•The course will be offered again in March 2003 with increased
emphasis on adolescent women’s health, an area not well-covered in
the 2002 mini-selective but of special interest to many UMass students.
Special thanks to:
Our Women’s Health Mini-Selective faculty participants:
Self-confidence
before
Self- confidence
after
Course evaluation : 100% of students strongly
agreed or agreed that the women’s health miniselective:







•Based on students’ pre-to-post improvements in knowledge and self-
Provided useful knowledge and skills for further learning
Provided supportive handouts, materials
Used formats that were appropriate and helpful to learning
Student projects enhanced the experience
Course faculty were knowledgeable and engaging
Increased their appreciation of women’s healthcare, research
Increased their appreciation of ethical dilemmas arising in women’s
healthcare and research
 Provided useful knowledge for future patient care
 Was an experience they would recommend to others
• Mai-Lan Rogoff MD
• Bruce Meyer MD
• Marjorie Clay PhD
• Tricia Droney MPH
• Marjorie Safran MD
• Diego Sanchez
• Holly Ryan
• Shuk-Mei Ho PhD
• Elizabeth Bertone DSc • Susan Zweizig MD
• Judith Ockene PhD
• Linda Pape MD
• Michael Aronson MD
• Nancy Fontneau MD
• Lauren Maldonado PT • Maureen Watkins PT
Our students:
• Teresa Arpin
•Margaret Barocas
•Margaret Calcari
• Brenda Croce •Athena Xifaris
• Karen Peterson
• Jeffrey Potter •Olivia Kim • Tessa Lafortune-Greenberg
Susan Pasquale PhD, UMass Medical School Office of Medical Education
and an unrestricted Pfizer Sexuality Education grant.
Teresa, Olivia and
Jeff prepare for
their presentations
For more information, please contact Julie.Jonassen@umassmed.edu