Melody Baldwin

Background
Despite profound evidence that social determinants of health and racism have a significant impact on health outcomes in obstetrics and gynecology we do a very poor job of educating medical students and residents to better understand and mitigate these factors in women’s health care. Inequities and biases in the health care setting lead to significant disparities in access to care, delay in diagnosis, and racial inequities in maternal and infant mortality. We have designed a curriculum for students and residents to address implicit bias, race, and racism in our field and the factors that create health inequities.

Description of Session
At our institution, first year medical students are required to take a novel, longitudinal course that addresses social determinants of health, racism, and implicit bias called "Cultural Determinants of Health and Health Disparities." Both Drs. Baldwin and Gray are small group facilitators for this course and have created an interactive case-based curriculum for students in their clinical year that is a required session for all students during their obstetrics and gynecology rotation. This new curriculum builds on the foundation of knowledge from their first year course and further explores social determinants of health and disparities through the lens of women’s health. We will share our approach to curricular design and how to teach medical students about the impacts of social determinants of health, racism, and implicit bias in the clinical setting.

We will outline our medical student curriculum, as well as a similar curriculum we have designed for our residents to address social determinants of health and the impacts on obstetric and gynecologic care. We will also review the CREOG Health Equity Curriculum and other resources that are available for educators. During this session we will generate a list of additional topics in obstetrics and gynecology that could be addressed when educating learners about social determinants of health. We will share our experience, successes, and challenges in bringing this curriculum to our learners. We will review tips and tricks for facilitating difficult conversations and techniques for engaging learners. We will address how to approach a student who is skeptical of the impact of bias and racism in medicine and solicit experiences and suggestions from the group. Lastly, we will share resources for educators interested in creating a similar curriculum for their learners.

A discussion of the history of sterilization, abortion, and contraceptive access in North Carolina and the evolution of policies surrounding reproductive rights.