Retaining Providers with Women's Health Expertise: Decreased Provider Loss Among VHA Women's Health Faculty Development Program Attendees. J Gen Intern Med 2022 Sep;37(Suppl 3):786-790
Date
08/31/2022Pubmed ID
36042098Pubmed Central ID
PMC9427435DOI
10.1007/s11606-022-07575-5Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85137089032 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 2 CitationsAbstract
BACKGROUND: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) provides care for over 500,000 women. In 2010 VHA instituted a policy requiring each facility to identify a designated women's health provider (WH-PCP) who could offer comprehensive gender-specific primary care. Access to WH-PCPs remains a challenge at some sites with high turnover among WH-PCPs. Faculty development programs have been demonstrated to foster professional development, networks, and mentorship; these can enhance job satisfaction and provide one potential solution to address WH-PCP turnover. One such program, the VHA's Women's Health Mini-Residency (WH-MR), was developed in 2011 to train WH-PCPs through case-based hands-on training.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this program evaluation was to determine the association of WH-MR participation with WH-PCP retention.
DESIGN: Using the Women's Health Assessment of Workforce Capacity-Primary Care survey, we assessed the relationship between WH-MR participation and retention of WH-PCP status between fiscal year 2018 and 2019.
PARTICIPANTS: All WH-PCPs (N = 2664) at the end of fiscal year 2018 were included.
MAIN MEASURES: We assessed retention of WH-PCP status the following year by WH-MR participation. For our adjusted analysis, we controlled for provider gender, provider degree (MD, DO, NP, PA), women's health leadership position, number of clinical sessions per week, and clinical setting (general primary care clinic, designated women's health clinic, or a combination).
KEY RESULTS: WH-MR participants were more likely to remain WH-PCPs in FY2019 in both unadjusted analyses (OR 1.91, 95%CI 1.54-2.36) and adjusted analyses (OR 1.96, 95%CI 1.58-2.44).
CONCLUSIONS: WH-PCPs who participate in WH-MRs are more likely to remain WH-PCPs in the VHA system. Given the negative impact of provider turnover on patient care and the significant financial cost of onboarding a new WH-PCP, the VHA should continue to encourage all WH-PCPs to participate in the WH-MR.
Author List
Farkas AH, Merriam S, Frayne S, Hardman L, Schwartz R, Kolehmainen CAuthor
Amy H. Farkas MD, MS Associate Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Comprehensive Health CareFaculty
Female
Humans
Primary Health Care
United States
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Women's Health
