March 2019

The Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to promote excellence in women’s health care education by providing support and resources to educators whose role is to teach medical students and other learners to provide exemplary women’s health care. Our core values include a commitment to teachers, learners and patients with the ultimate goal to improve the quality of life of all women. APGO considers the ability to perform a complete and competent pelvic and breast examination to be a necessary skill in the provision of comprehensive women’s health care. We promote the appropriate teaching of pelvic exam skills to medical students during their undergraduate medical education. Teaching of these exam skills should be comprehensive and can include the use of didactics, simulation and mentored examinations in the clinical setting. We recommend that learners in the clinical setting, including in the operating room when the patient is under anesthesia, should only perform a pelvic examination for teaching purposes when the pelvic exam is:

• Explicitly consented to;
• Related to the planned procedure;
• Performed by a student who is recognized by the patient as a part of their care team; AND
• Done under direct supervision by the educator.

This statement is supported by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and endorsed by:

Please contact admin@apgo.org with questions or for more information.