 Anecdotal qualitative data from our students is reassuring but whether the GTA programme in its current design is effective and indeed cost-effective in key educational outcomes is unclear. The published data available are generally descriptive studies of the process and institution of GTA programmes into the undergraduate medical curriculum 2-7. Studies addressing student competence and confidence are limited to small, observational series. One non-randomised controlled study from the UK demonstrated that students who had been trained with GTAs were significantly better than those who had been trained with pelvic models alone 1. However, in this study the GTA training was supplementary to the normal curriculum so the amount of teaching rather than the style of teaching may have acted as a confounding factor. Moreover, a valid assessment tool was not used to assess clinical performance. Evaluating the educational benefit of GTAs is also important if we are to allocate scarce undergraduate educational resources efficiently. Gynaecological teaching associates are paid professionals and introducing this method of teaching has financial implications for Universities. 