Abortion is a common experience for people around the world; yet it is often excluded from the curricula of health professionals. Our aim is to fill in the gaps left by the exclusion of abortion from mainstream curricula.
This course will cover basics on first trimester abortion including safety, medication abortion, and aspiration procedures. We will then teach patient-centered pregnancy decision counseling in patient scenarios that often prove challenging. Physicians may lack the training, language, or techniques to guide patients to self-directed decisions in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) where stigma makes open discussion uncomfortable for patients and providers alike.
First, you will watch the Abortion 101 videos (~ 38 min). We will then meet as a group. The “Abortion after the First Trimester” is not required and we won’t have time to watch that video today. It was included in case you wanted to watch it in the future.
We will then watch the Counseling videos (~ 37 min) and then meet to discuss the case and self reflection.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the difference between medication abortion and emergency contraception
- Recognize that medication abortion and uterine aspiration are safe and highly acceptable to patients
- Describe how medication abortion works
- Recognize areas in your practice where you may experience a judgmental reaction to patient statements, questions and decisions.
- Apply conversational techniques for maintaining a positive relationship with patients who make decisions about health care with which you may disagree.
- Compare and contrast different words and phrases that are used in options counseling.
- Analyze alternative responses to patient statements.
- Practice techniques for talking with patients about their pregnancy decisions.
IERH acknowledges the importance of inclusive language as a component of patient-centered care and we are working to improve our content. Read more here.