FGM Medical Education at a United Kingdom Medical School: students’ perspectives (FGMed Study)

Background: Over 200 million girls from over 30 countries worldwide have been subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Globalisation has led to a rising prevalence of FGM in western countries such as the United Kingdom (UK). FGM has varied implications, including physical and mental health complications and legal consequences. It is therefore vital for medical students as future healthcare professionals to receive training on a clinical approach to FGM. Methods: A single centre online survey was distributed amongst medical students in years 3-5 (clinical years) at a large UK medical school. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected. The aim was to assess perception of their knowledge and confidence with regard to FGM and to gauge opinions on the current FGM medical curriculum. Results: The results demonstrate a lack of confidence despite some theoretical knowledge. For example, 43% of respondents rated themselves as having a ‘reasonable’, ‘good’, or ‘extensive’ knowledge of the risk factors for FGM, but 25% felt they were ‘not at all’ confidence in recognising these in a clinical setting. Regarding the quantity of teaching, respondents reported a mean of 1.6 hours and a heavily lecture-based current medical curriculum. Free text responses highlighted a need for more small group tutorials about FGM with a focus on developing a clinical approach. Conclusion: The FGMed study identified gaps in the current FGM medical curriculum in terms of content and type of teaching in a UK medical school. This study has generated a list of specific suggestions such as increasing the number of clinically oriented small group teaching sessions, and increasing the number of teaching hours in clinical years. Overall, these results and recommendations may be transferable to other countries and contexts given the global significance of FGM.