Incorporating a Women's Cardiovascular Health Curriculum Into Medical Education

Abstract

Despite cardiovascular disease (CVD) being the leading cause of death of women globally, research on CVD over the past several decades has focused primarily on men. CVD research has led to progress in diagnosis and treatment, medical education, and public awareness; however, few of these advances have applied specifically to women's cardiovascular health. There is a paucity of sex- and gender-specific educational material regarding CVD in clinical training programs for physicians. The irregularity in integrated curricula across medical schools in Canada may be a factor in persistent disparities in clinical care and outcomes experienced by women, compared with men. In response to this gap, the Training and Education Working Group of the Canadian Women's Heart Health Alliance undertook the planning, development, and dissemination of a Canadian Women's Heart Health Education Course. The development of the course was guided by a 6-step approach for curriculum development for medical education, which included conducting a needs assessment, determining and prioritizing content, setting goals and objectives, selecting educational strategies, implementation, and evaluation.

Figure 1

The 6-step approach for curriculum development for medical education: (i) conducting a needs assessment and creating a rationale statement; (ii) determining and prioritizing content; (iii) setting goals and objectives; (iv) selecting teaching/educational strategies; (v) implementation; and (vi) evaluating and summarizing lessons learned.

Figure 2

Summary of the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Education Course. ACS, acute coronary syndrome; CVD, cardiovascular disease; SCAD, spontaneous coronary artery dissection.