PRACTICING PHYSICIANS

Getting training to provide abortions after residency is not as uncommon as you may think.  Many current abortion providers are already in practice when they decide that they want to provide abortions and are able to get trained. It is true that getting trained during residency is easier in terms of built-in time with elective months, and the possibility of having your malpractice already covered. That said, there are many options for being trained in abortion care after graduating residency….

There are multiple family medicine fellowships in family planning, including RHAP’s Reproductive Health Care and Advocacy Fellowship, the TEACH Leadership Fellowship, and the Kansas Clinical Family Planning Fellowship. If you’re also interested in obstetrical care, then the University of New Mexico’s Maternal Child and Reproductive Health Fellowship may be an option to consider, as they do include access to abortion care and training.

  • TEACH Leadership Fellowship
    • Length: 1 year, part-time
    • Locations: Flexible—part time Bay Area-based employment preferred
    • Emphasis:

      • Leadership training/Advocacy — apply for Physicians for Reproductive Health Leadership Training Academy and advocate with state and national legislators

      • Faculty development — develop as a master trainer-in-training to teach hands-on skills and didactics for clinicians-in-training, work on curriculum improvements through the TEACH program

      • Clinical training and teaching — contraception, first trimester pregnancy termination, ultrasound

      • Research exposure

  • Kansas Clinical Family Planning (KCFP) Fellowship
    • Length: 9‒12 months
    • Locations: Various clinics throughout Kansas at Planned Parenthood Great Plains. (Applicants will need to be able to be licensed in Kansas.)
    • Emphasis:
      • Clinical — comprehensive abortion care provision (medication abortion, procedural abortion up to 21.6wks, complex contraception
      • Advocacy — navigation of politically repressive reproductive health landscapes; engagement with local independent providers; media and political engagement
  • Maternal Child & Reproductive Health Fellowship at the University of New Mexico

    • Length: 2 years, full time

    • Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico

    • Emphasis:

      • Clinical — care of complicated obstetric patients, C-sections, medications and procedural abortions, NICU, operative delivery, tubal ligation, colposcopy, ultrasound, vasectomy

      • Teaching — precept family medicine patients in clinic and on the labor and delivery unit

Chief Year

  • Many family medicine residency programs offer a chief year option where you do administrative tasks to support the residency, and become involved in precepting and teaching residents. Think of it as a junior faculty position. If programs are amenable, you could consider incorporating abortion training into your chief year. You’d have to follow many of the processes delineated in the residency section to establish with a local (or out of state) abortion clinic, but many chief years offer the opportunity to do away electives, so this could be an option for you. Additionally, you could use this as an opportunity to strengthen miscarriage management and abortion care into your residency’s didactic curriculum. You could also consider applying for the Physicians for Reproductive Health Leadership Training Academy. The chief year is a great opportunity to experience medical education from a faculty perspective, as well as support your own professional development with interests of your choice.

Legal and Regulatory Assistance

As part of your training process, you will want to consider the logistical, legal, and regulatory steps necessary for you to be able to integrate abortion care into your practice. Since the Dobbs decision, these considerations are more complex and more important than ever, and vary widely from state-to-state. As you pursue training, we recommend consultation with the following organizations for individualized legal, regulatory, and digital security advice:

There are two primary non-fellowship post-graduate training opportunities that you may want to consider.

  • Abortion Training Centers

    • This is a consortium of abortion clinics committed to providing opportunities for clinicians to learn abortion care in small group clinical settings.

    • Some financial assistance may be available, but isn’t guaranteed. Your malpractice will be covered through their malpractice insurance, so you do not need to get additional malpractice coverage.

  • Midwest Access Project
    • MAP has a long history of training providers who are already in practice. They have a strategic goal to identify healthcare professionals who have a high motivation to provide comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including abortion, to unserved or underserved patient populations. They provide observation and/or hands-on training at various sites throughout the region. The length of rotations is dependent on the professional goals of each trainee.
    • The process is application based. Prospective applicants are welcome to speak to MAP staff prior to applying. If your application was not accepted, MAP staff are available to share feedback about your application.
    • If you have already gone through a MAP rotation, don’t hesitate to apply for a second or third rotation.
    • Please visit MAP’s Individual Clinical Training page to learn more about the program and eligibility.

Legal and Regulatory Assistance

As part of your training process, you will want to consider the logistical, legal, and regulatory steps necessary for you to be able to integrate abortion care into your practice. Since the Dobbs decision, these considerations are more complex and more important than ever, and vary widely from state-to-state. As you pursue training, we recommend consultation with the following organizations for individualized legal, regulatory, and digital security advice:

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