Early Abortion Education and Training Guidelines for Primary Care Providers

With the culmination of the Improving Abortion Care Access Research/HWPP and the passage of Assembly Bill 154 (AB154) in 2014 and Assembly Bill 980 (AB980) in 2013, California took important steps in improving access to abortion services for the most vulnerable women in the state by increasing access to abortion under the conditions when it is safest – in the first trimester, closest to home and by trusted, qualified clinicians. This policy change was based on findings from the six-year Health Workforce Pilot Project (HWPP #171) study conducted by UCSF ANSIRH that provided conclusive evidence for removing restrictions on the clinical provision of abortions by qualified nurse practitioners (NPs), certified nurse midwives (CNMs), and physician assistants (PAs) while also lifting unnecessary restrictions on the facilities in which they are performed, thereby allowing abortion care to be provided by trained providers in a variety of safe and appropriate clinical settings.

As part of HWPP #171, ANSIRH researchers evaluated a standardized, competency-based curriculum and training plan for education of primary care clinicians in early abortion care. The final version of the Early Abortion Training curriculum guidelines, core competencies, professional responsibilities, and training plan integrates the newly revised Training in Early Abortion for Comprehensive Healthcare (TEACH) Program Workbook and training resources (2016) with the HWPP-171 Training Program findings and AB154 requirements.

The curriculum and training plan consists of didactic education, problem-based case reviews, and “hands on” clinical experience, along with knowledge testing and periodic clinical assessment, with the goal to train primary care clinicians to competence in all aspects of early abortion care. The Early Abortion Education & Training Guidelines for Primary Care Providers meets the statutory requirements of AB154 and the California Board of Registered Nursing regulations.

Who are these Early Abortion Training Guidelines for?

  • Primary Care Provider (PCP) trainees in NP, CNM, PA and MD/DO academic training and residencies
  • Post-graduate CE programs for PCPs
  • California NP/CNM/PAs seeking education/training in early abortion care to comply with state law (AB 154) and Board of Nursing regulations

Below are the essential components for the training of primary care clinicians in early abortion care:

  1. Early Abortion Education and Training Guidelines for Primary Care Providers
  2. The revised 5th Edition of the TEACH Early Abortion Training Workbook that is used to train reproductive health professionals, residents and primary care clinicians in California and nationwide
  3. Core Competencies: Unintended Pregnancy Prevention & First Trimester Abortion Care are intended as entry-level competencies for primary care clinicians providing early abortion care, regardless of setting
  4. Fact sheet—What NPs, CNMs and PAs need to know to provide abortion care in California
  5. For NPs and CNMs: Standardized Procedure Criteria for Abortion Care with AB154 Requirements (California BRN Regulation)