The maternity care practice of Navy family practice residency graduates while on active duty.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Military family practice residency programs produce a high percentage of graduates who provide maternity care. This study will define the scope of maternity care practice for one military family practice residency program's graduates while they were serving on active duty in the U.S. Navy.

METHODS

Two hundred eight surviving graduates of the family practice residency at Naval Hospital, Jacksonville, Florida, from 1971 to 1995 were surveyed by mail regarding their maternity care practice while on active duty. One hundred eighty-one (87%) responded to the survey, and the data were analyzed with descriptive statistics.

FINDINGS

The vast majority of these Navy family practice residency graduates provided prenatal care (88.4%) and routine vaginal delivery services (85.1%) while on active duty. The majority repaired third- and fourth-degree perineal lacerations and performed vacuum- or forceps-assisted vaginal delivery. Additionally, a significant minority provided more advanced maternity care services such as dilation and curettage, tubal ligation, and cesarean section. The overwhelming majority (97%) of these graduates felt that their residency education had adequately prepared them to provide these maternity care services while on active duty.

CONCLUSIONS

During the past 25 years, Navy residency-trained family physicians provided a wide range of maternity care services while on active duty and felt that their Navy residency training program had prepared them well to meet this responsibility.