Early abortion training ‘should be mandatory’ claim medics

MORE than 80% of medical professionals believe early abortion training should be mandatory, a firstof-its-kind Irish study has found.

Irish GPs can provide Early Medical Abortion (EMA) in pregnancies at less than 10 weeks’ gestation.

But there is no published data regarding education for community EMA among undergraduate medical students and GPs in Ireland.

Of the 261 people working in this area, 60% had received EMA education, and 81% believed that EMA training should be mandatory.

Just 18% of undergraduates and 29% of trainees had sat in on an EMA consultation. Of those, 90.5% of undergraduates, 97.2% of trainees and 100% of trainers reported that attending a consultation made them think about their involvement in such abortions.

The co-authors of the study, published in this month’s Irish Medical Journal, said: ‘EMA is now part of GP services and the medical curriculum has not been universally updated to reflect this. This study highlights that many doctors believe EMA education should be part of the curriculum, irrespective of intention to provide, and shows there are knowledge gaps.’

The study, Early Medical Abortion – Education and Training Experiences, by the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) examines the education experience of Irish undergraduate medical students, GP trainees and trainers regarding EMA, and assesses their knowledge and attitudes to the topic.

Before 2018, terminations could only be carried out in the case of a real and substantial risk to the life of a pregnant woman. In May 2018, the referendum on the 36th Amendment of the Constitution was passed and subsequently the Health (Termination of Pregnancy) Act came into effect on 1, January 2019.