Abstract | November 8, 2021

Evaluating Perceptions of Fertility and Family Planning During Medical School in the United States

Presenting Authors: Katherine A Cironi, B.S., Medical Student, 3rd Year, School of Medicine, Tulane School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, New Orleans, LA; and Rachel Dunn, MA, Medical Student, 3rd Year, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA

Coauthors: Gowri Gowda, Medical Student, 3rd year, Tulane SOM, New Orleans, LA; Mary Siki, Medical Student, 3rd year, Tulane SOM, New Orleans, LA; Katherine Cironi, Medical Student, 3rd year, Tulane SOM, New Orleans, LA; Emma Newton, Medical Student, 3rd year, Tulane SOM, New Orleans, LA; Christiania Edstrom, Medical Student, 3rd year, Tulane SOM, New Orleans, LA; Nadia Johnston, Medical Student, 2nd year, Tulane SOM, New Orleans, LA; Christina Thomas, Medical Student, 3rd year, Tulane SOM, New Orleans, LA; Rachel Dunn, Medical Student, 3rd year, Tulane SOM, New Orleans, LA; Leely Rezvani, Medical Student, 3rd year, Tulane SOM, New Orleans, LA; Grace McCullen, Medical Student, 3rd year, Tulane SOM, New Orleans, LA; Chrissy Guidry, DO, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Trauma, and Critical Care, General Surgery, Tulane SOM, New Orleans, LA

Learning Objectives

  1. Assess the view medical students in the United States have on fertility and family planning and how these impact future career endeavors.

Background/Knowledge Gap: The make-up of the medical student body is changing nationwide – in 2019, more women were enrolled in medical school than men, and while the average age is 24, we consistently see individuals matriculating to medical schools in their 30s and 40s. Even with the increase in women in medicine, residencies and careers viewed as more demanding, such as surgery or academia, have struggled to recruit a proportional number of women to their ranks. Additionally, a recent study reported that infertility is much higher in female surgeons (30%-32%) when compared to the general population (11%) which has caused discouragement among medical students who may wish to pursue the field of surgery as a career. Herein, this survey aims to collect thoughts and awareness surrounding the availability of fertility planning resources and assess the potential for future initiatives to assist and support family preparation during medical training.

Methods/Design: Tulane IRB exemption approved for up to 1000 responses. Eligibility criteria include all medical students enrolled at a US medical school. Survey employs a mixed-methods approach using quantitative and qualitative variables of interest to assess knowledge and availability of fertility and family planning resources at US medical schools, the relative prevalence of pregnancy during medical school, barriers to having children during medical school, and the perceived culture surrounding parenthood while pursuing “demanding” residency training programs.

Results/Findings: To be collected. Pilot phase in process, anticipating 80 responses from a single center by 8/16/2021. Study phase to begin 9/1/2021.

Conclusion/Implication: We hope to gain insight into the real and perceived barriers to parenthood and fertility preservation services during medical school to address any gaps in knowledge and resources. We anticipate that providing support for parental policies and fertility resources will help further diversify medical specialties.

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