Cancer Screening for Transgender Patients: An Online Case-Based Module

Abstract

IntroductionGuidelines recommend that primary care providers complete organ-based routine cancer screening for all transgender patients. Training on critical transgender health topics like cancer screening, as well as residents' confidence in addressing issues their transgender patients may face, remains limited among graduate medical education (GME) programs. Online case-based modules are an effective tool for skills improvement in GME, but their application to transgender health topics has not been assessed.MethodsI developed a brief online module on cancer screening for transgender patients using Google Forms and offered it to first-year internal medicine residents. The module was optional and asynchronous with other didactics presented during an oncology-themed ambulatory learning block. Pre- and postmodule surveys assessed resident confidence in counseling transgender patients about cancer screening and sharing screening resources.ResultsFourteen of 60 interns elected to complete the module, with all participants submitting pre- and postmodule surveys. Respondents reported increased confidence in counseling transgender patients about appropriate cancer screening (mean increase on 5-point Likert scale of 1.29; confidence interval [CI], 0.81–1.76; p < .01) and increased confidence in discussing resources on cancer screening for transgender individuals (mean increase on 5-point Likert scale of 1.36; CI, 0.66–2.06; p < .01).DiscussionWhile knowledge gaps on transgender health issues like cancer screening remain significant among residents, brief case-based online modules, in conjunction with an expansion of traditional didactics, may help improve confidence among residents in addressing these critical issues with their transgender patients.

Early Intervention for LGBTQ Health: A 10-Hour Curriculum for Preclinical Health Professions Students

“…MedEdPORTAL has previously published similar content, much of which consists of discrete activities (e.g., case discussions, 26,27 standardized patient cases/simulations, [28][29][30][31][32][33] and other brief activities [34][35][36][37] ) that are similar to individual components of the curriculum presented here. Some of these publications describe more comprehensive activities but tend to focus on specific skills [38][39][40][41][42][43] or specific subpopulations of LGBTQ individuals, [44][45][46] and many are targeted toward learners at later stages of their training. 33,34,41,42,[45][46][47][48][49][50] Our curriculum represents a unique contribution by including a more comprehensive set of activities (including didactic presentations, case discussions, a community panel, and a session with standardized patients) that provide a general overview of LGBTQ-related health topics directed toward learners early in their training.…”

“…Some of these publications describe more comprehensive activities but tend to focus on specific skills [38][39][40][41][42][43] or specific subpopulations of LGBTQ individuals, [44][45][46] and many are targeted toward learners at later stages of their training. 33,34,41,42,[45][46][47][48][49][50] Our curriculum represents a unique contribution by including a more comprehensive set of activities (including didactic presentations, case discussions, a community panel, and a session with standardized patients) that provide a general overview of LGBTQ-related health topics directed toward learners early in their training. Our curriculum is flexible and inexpensive to implement.…”

Current State of Transgender Medical Education in the United States and Canada: Update to a Scoping Review

“…Our literature search identified 966 unique articles, of which 10 contained transgender-specific educational interventions (Figure 1). 16-25 We noted a continued acceleration of publication frequency. Previously, 8 total transgender-specific educational interventions were identified prior to December 2017.…”

The influence of the oncology‐focused transgender‐simulated patient simulation on nursing students' cultural competence development

“…Recently, researchers found an increased risk of breast cancer in transgender women compared with cisgender men, and a lower risk of breast cancer in transgender men than in cisgender women 20,21 . Having a cancer diagnosis can be an overwhelming experience for patients, and it could be even a more difficult experience for transgender persons due to the stigma and discrimination they often encounter 22,23 . Nurses play critical roles in conducting culturally congruent nursing assessment, evaluation, treatment, and patient teaching for various oncological emergencies that can lead to mortality and morbidity in cancer 24‐26 …”