About the Guide

This Guide is organized into sections that contain specific actions and suggestions to help you implement curriculum improvements at your school. It includes lists of practical recommendations, case studies of student organizing efforts, and resources such as sample surveys, a sample petition, and a sample flyer. The Guide also compiles the strategies of students who have successfully worked to improve the reproductive health curricula in their schools.

This publication is not meant to be a "step-by-step" guide. It cannot provide suggestions that will fit every situation medical students might face when trying to organize for curriculum reform. It does, however, present a variety of suggestions from which you can choose to develop a plan of action that best suits your situation and needs.

Successful curriculum reform results from an accurate assessment of educational needs, implementation of applicable strategies, and persistence. Medical school administrators and faculty may be in varied states of readiness for curriculum improvements. For example, in some schools, all it may take is identifying and working with faculty who are already interested in and capable of setting up a reproductive health elective. In other cases, the situation may be more challenging; the medical school may be ideologically opposed to teaching some topics in reproductive health, such as abortion. In such situations, implementing change can be time consuming, require compromise, and demand particularly creative solutions.

We realize that being a medical student is more than a full-time job, and that many medical students have numerous responsibilities in their lives. This Guide was developed to save time and help you realize that even small changes can make a difference, leading to a more comprehensive reproductive health education and resulting in higher quality care for all women and men.

This Guide is designed to help you achieve fundamental changes at your school, from raising awareness to integrating reproductive health topics into the core curriculum. ARHP and MSFC are available for additional assistance and advice, including referrals to medical students and faculty who have been successful in these efforts. We wish you the best of luck in working to create a better environment for individuals to access the full range of reproductive health services.