Teaching and learning about sexual histories during undergraduate medical education: a comparison of two approaches.

Experiential small group workshops on taking a sexual history were introduced at Imperial College School of Medicine (ICSM). With the introduction of a new curriculum and an increase in the number of students, together with a growing awareness of economic constraints in medical education, a large group session on the same topic was developed. In both sessions students identify barriers to taking a sexual history, contexts in which a sexual history is appropriate and skills necessary for an effective sexual history interview. This paper describes and contrasts the content, methodology and student evaluations of both types of sessions. The results showed that in the short term students perceived benefits from both methods of teaching. Further work is required to determine the long-term effects of such training.