New platform aims to ensure ob-gyn resident access to abortion training

Future physicians studying obstetrics and gynecology (ob-gyn) in abortion-restricted or total ban states can now take advantage of new virtual abortion care training—but they may still have to travel to another state for hands-on residency training.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) announced earlier this month that it has collaborated with other groups to provide free virtual training modules to residents enrolled in accredited ob-gyn programs.

The web-based Patient-centered Abortion Care Education (PACE) curriculum features seven hours of content, including interactive videos, simulations, and evaluations, and it focuses on the general principles of abortion care; best practices in pregnancy options and abortion counseling; provision of safe, high-quality abortion care; and early pregnancy loss care.

AnnaMarie Connolly, ACOG’s chief of education and academic affairs, said the virtual training should provide residents with “a foundation in the essentials of abortion care.”

She added that while the web-based curriculum does not replace hands-on training, it will prepare residents who must travel to another state for that education “to develop their skills on day one.”

ACOG worked with the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Innovating Education in Reproductive Health, and the Kenneth J. Ryan Residency Training Program in Abortion and Family Planning to develop the virtual training platform following the Supreme Court’s 2022 reversal of long-standing abortion protections granted under Roe v. Wade.

The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling created new challenges for ob-gyn residency programs, which must train future ob-gyns on abortion to receive Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) backing. Almost half of accredited ob-gyn residency programs are located in abortion-restricted or total ban states.

ACGME officials announced that the accrediting body would not cite programs for noncompliance in states with abortion restrictions. However, residents in those programs must still get clinical abortion training in another state unless they opt out for religious or moral reasons.