Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 37
37
Accepted
Paragraph: 137
Medical schools provide insufficient training on women’s reproductive health, impacting practitioner knowledge.
Recommendation
Training on women’s reproductive health in medical schools needs to be improved. Healthcare practitioners are graduating without sufficient knowledge of the conditions that may affect women over their lifetime . 78 Without that education, healthcare professionals are less likely to choose women’s health as a specialty and less able to support women during their interactions with the health service.
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of training and describes existing measures, such as GMC standards, the new MLA assessment topics (including women's health), and mandatory obstetrics and gynaecology rotations, as already addressing the need for improved education.
Paragraph Reference:
137
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
It is important that healthcare professionals receive the necessary training to provide the best care possible for women with reproductive health conditions. GMC is the regulator of all medical doctors practising in the UK. GMC – rather than the Royal colleges – sets and enforces the standards that all doctors must adhere to, and is responsible for ensuring that medical professionals have the necessary skills and knowledge to join the UK medical register. GMC is independent of government, directly accountable to Parliament and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties. Individual medical schools set their own curricula, which must meet the standards and expected outcomes set by GMC. GMC has introduced the MLA for the majority of incoming doctors, including all medical students graduating from academic year 2024 to 2025 and onwards. Within this assessment are a number of topics relating to women’s health, including: • fibroids • endometriosis • urinary incontinence This will encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the UK. Obstetrics and gynaecology is already a mandatory rotation in undergraduate training.