Gynecology teaching frameworks in Canada amid the transition to competence by design

Objectives To assess the current state of gynecology education in Canadian OBGYN residency programs with regards to: (1) transition to CBD, (2) teaching methods and infrastructure, (3) learner evaluation, (4) use of simulation, and (5) interest in a national educational database. Methods All OBGYN program directors in Canada were invited to participate in a 30-minute telephone interview. These took place from January to September 2020, and consisted of 20 standardized questions, focused on surgical education within their residency program. Results Of 16 program directors, 12 participated. The majority have completed curriculum mapping for CBD. CBD implementation has not led to major structural changes to existing 5-year curricula. Barriers to implementation mostly pertain to faculty engagement, resident uptake of frequent evaluations, and convenience of electronic platforms. In all programs, formal teaching is structured around academic half-days, which are largely not individualized to level of training. Simulation is utilized by all programs, though simulation modalities and frequency of sessions vary. Program director satisfaction with the current amount of simulation varied widely from 2/5 to 5/5, with most common barriers being cost, time and human resources. Interest in a national database of educational resources averaged 4.8/5. Conclusions CBD implementation has led to major changes in systems of assessment. However, despite its call for curricular innovation, CBD has not, as yet, resulted in substantial changes to curricula and teaching methods in postgraduate gynecology education. Participating program directors unanimously support the development of a national bank of educational resources to ease knowledge sharing and reduce burden on individual programs.