RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Medical student self-reported confidence in obstetrics and gynaecology: development of a core clinical competencies document Kristen Pierides 1 , Paul Duggan 2* , Anna Chur-Hansen 3 and Amaya Gilson 3 Abstract Background: Clinical competencies in obstetrics and gynaecology have not been clearly defined for Australian medical students, the growing numbers of which may impact clinical teaching. Our aim was to administer and validate a competencies list, for self-evaluation by medical students of their confidence to manage common clinical tasks in obstetrics and gynaecology; to evaluate students’ views on course changes that may result from increasing class sizes. Methods: A draft list of competencies was peer-reviewed, and discussed at two student focus groups. The resultant list was administered as part of an 81 item online survey. Results: Sixty-eight percent (N = 172) of those eligible completed the survey. Most respondents (75.8%) agreed or strongly agreed that they felt confident and well equipped to recognise and manage most common and important obstetric and gynaecological conditions. Confidence was greater for women, and for those who received a higher assessment grade. Free-text data highlight reasons for lack of clinical experience that may impact perceived confidence. Conclusions: The document listing competencies for medical students and educators is useful for discussions around a national curriculum in obstetrics and gynaecology in medical schools, including the best methods of delivery, particularly in the context of increasing student numbers. Keywords: Clinical skills, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Core competencies, Student evaluation Background It is well established that the graduating medical practi- tioner must have knowledge and expertise in women’ s health [1]. Whilst Competency Maps have been devel- oped for specialist training [2], expected competencies have not been well defined for medical students. Efforts have been made in the United States to identify priority learning objectives in Obstetrics and Gynaecology [3]. In Australia, there has been an attempt to define a national core curriculum in Women’ s Health [4]. However, a na- tional curriculum for medical schools in Australia is lacking, in Obstetrics and Gynaecology as well as other specialty areas [5]. The Australian Junior Doctors’ Cur- riculum Framework [6] outlines the core knowledge and skills expected of a junior doctor as determined by the Postgraduate Medical Education Council, which does not include specialists in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The competencies of this Framework broadly cover all medical disciplines. Arguably, the document is not de- tailed enough to be more than a guide to pre-graduation teaching in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Patients are having acute and shorter hospital stays and therefore finding quality clinical placements is be- coming increasingly difficult [7]. An added pressure for many medical schools around the world are growing class sizes [8], a challenge that is not new, with the im- pact described as early as 1978 [9]. Furthermore, clinical placements are needed not only for medical students, but also for other health professional trainees, including nursing and midwifery students, meaning there may be competition for access to clinical exposure. In Australia, * Correspondence: paul.duggan@adelaide.edu.au 2 Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Adelaide, Frome Rd, Adelaide 5005, Australia Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © 2013 Pierides et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Pierides et al. BMC Medical Education 2013, 13:62 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6920/13/62