MSFC Update - November 2004

Inside Update: From the MSFC President

See one, do one, teach one. As a fourth year medical student, I have come to know this axiom of clinical medical education well over the past year. Thrust from the classroom into the operating/ delivery/patient room, I quickly came to appreciate the lore that procedures are learned by first observing, then performing, and ultimately teaching them — this goes for suturing, lumbar punctures, pulling and placing central lines, even delivering babies. However, I soon learned that this rule did not apply to abortion training.

Although abortion is one of the most common gynecological procedures in the United States, I will graduate from medical school never having seen an elective abortion as part of my required education. There are no requirements that abortion be included in medical school curriculum. And we know well from the experiences of our bi-national student network that it is not routinely taught or demonstrated. To us the issue is clear: We cannot ensure that all future physicians are adequately trained to meet the full reproductive needs of women until suitable training is available to all medical students — and we continue to work towards that goal.

At 115 medical schools across the United States and Canada, Medical Students for Choice is increasing the number of education and training opportunities by organizing lectures and conferences, establishing elective courses, and advocating for curriculum reform. This year we also provided funding to help over 60 medical students receive clinical exposure to abortion through our Reproductive Health Externship program. It is evident that with a grassroots network larger than ever before, MSFC continues to grow as an organized force of institutional change. And more medical students are being exposed to abortion procedures because of it.

Yet we have also identified that a vital part of improving access to training involves resident physicians. Not only is residency where the abundance of clinical training occurs, but residents are integral to MSFC as mentors, educators, current and future abortion providers, and activists. It is our belief that increasing access to comprehensive reproductive health care by improving the training of future doctors cannot be accomplished without a more active inclusion of residents.

Accordingly, as we look to increase our resident membership and further expand our online Residency Guides, the MSFC Board of Directors took the first steps towards a revitalized focus on resident organizing through the creation of a Residency Task force. Thus it is with pride and enthusiasm that we devote this issue of the MSFC Update and the upcoming year towards our evolving vision of resident organizing. Under the guidance of our resident Board members and new task force, MSFC anticipates another year of exciting possibilities. It is with this vision that we hope to improve our effectiveness in reshaping the culture of medical education to ensure that the necessary clinical skills and responsibilities are passed on to the next generation of providers. Medical Students for Choice understands that you can not do something that you have not learned, nor teach something that you have not done, and that WITHOUT PROVIDERS, THERE IS NO CHOICE.

Rob Roose
MSFC President, 2004-2005
MSIV, George Washington University School of Medicine