VIDEO: OB/GYN specialty loses skills, trainees after Dobbs
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NEW ORLEANS — In this video exclusive, Sarah Horvath, MD, MSHP, talks about the state of obstetrics and gynecology training 1 year after the Dobbs decision revoked a federal right to abortion.
Horvath provides complex family planning and is assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Penn State University College of Medicine.
The Dobbs decision has had unintended consequences for medical training, Horvath said. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education continues to require OB/GYN trainees to be able to evacuate a uterus at any time of gestation. That mandate butts up against state laws prohibiting or limiting abortion. In this environment, fewer medical trainees are opting to pursue a career in obstetrics and gynecology.
“There are serious concerns that we’re going to have large geographical swaths of the United States without providers who feel competent and trained when emergencies happen and ... early pregnancy loss care requires a skilled physician,” Horvath said.