The LGBTQI health forum: an innovative interprofessional initiative to support curriculum reform

Abstract

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) individuals continue to face barriers to accessing appropriate and comprehensive healthcare. Compounding this problem, healthcare trainees report few training opportunities and low levels of preparedness to care for LGBTQI patients. In 2009, an interprofessional group of students and a faculty advisor at the University of California, San Francisco, developed a novel student-organized LGBTQI Health Forum for medical, dental, pharmacy, nursing, and physical therapy students to deliver LGBTQI health content that was otherwise absent from the formal curriculum. This elective course has evolved based upon participant feedback, emerging educational strategies, and the existing curricula infrastructure at our institution. After eight years of growth, this 10-contact hour weekend elective attracts over 250 participants each year. Plenary sessions deliver foundational terminology and skills to all attendees. Learners then select breakout sessions to attend, allowing for an individualized curriculum based upon specific interests and knowledge gaps. Breakout session topics prioritize traditionally underrepresented aspects of LGBTQI health in professional school curricula. This Forum serves as a model in which to supplement LGBTQI content into existing school curricula and offers an opportunity for interprofessional education. Next steps include conducting a formal evaluation of the curriculum, expanding our performance-based assessments, and potentially implementing a continuing education program for licensed practitioners. With a core group of interprofessional student organizers and a faculty champion, other institutions may view this course architecture as a potential way to offer learners not only LGBTQI content, but other underrepresented subjects into their own educational programs.

Medical students’ perception of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) discrimination in their learning environment and their self-reported comfort level for caring for LGBT patients: a survey study

“…Finally and similar to literature, LGBT students represented a high proportion among respondents (35.9%), likely higher than the true proportion among medical students estimated at 5.0% [1]. The higher response rate noted in our study can be explained by LGBT students showing a higher interest in healthcare issues related to their own community [35]. This disproportionate response does not allow us to generalize our results.…”

“…Prior publications demonstrate a similar pattern beyond the undergraduate level. Among adolescent health care providers, only 47.1% felt confident providing adequate medical therapy to transgender youth, with 65.1% indicating that lack of training as a major barrier [34, 35]. Identifying these gaps by healthcare providers is the first step in improving the curriculum.…”

LGBTQ Identity, Nursing Education, and Culturally Safe Care: Suggestions for Educators

“…Nursing and other allied health students need knowledge of what it means to be part of an LGBTQ community and how the specific sexual or gender identity affects or influences how healthcare is experienced. There is much research to support the fact that LGBTQ content has accounted for a median of five hours over a fouryear program [16][18] [28]. Curricular content such as this cannot be imparted in one session, it must be threaded throughout the curriculum and over the entire length of the program.…”

Queering medical education: systematically assessing LGBTQI health competency and implementing reform

“…This publication included a list of 30 broad competencies across 5 curricular domains, outlining how medical schools could teach students how to care for LGBTQI patients. In 2017, the University of California–San Francisco published a report on the effectiveness innovative 8-year-old, 10-contact hour weekend elective course in LGBTQI health for health profession students [5,13]. Through these publications, the American medical community is beginning to address the health disparities that exist between each of the LGBTQI communities and the general population.…”