Evidence-Based Curricular Content Improves Student Knowledge and Changes Attitudes towards Transgender Medicine

Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated that the addition of transgender medicine content to a medical school curriculum increased students' comfort and willingness to treat transgender patients. We aimed to demonstrate that (1) evidence-based curricular content would improve knowledge of and change attitudes towards transgender medicine, and (2) students would consider cross-sex hormone therapy a legitimate treatment option for transgender patients. Curricular content with a focus on the biologic evidence for the durability of gender identity was added to the first-year medical program at Boston University School of Medicine. Immediately before and after exposure to the content, students were presented with an assessment of their knowledge of the etiology of gender identity. Immediately following exposure to the content, a significant number of students changed their answer regarding the etiology of gender identity so that the number of correct responses increased from 63% (n = 56) to 93% (n = 121) (P<.001). For transgender treatment, the number of correct responses increased from 20% (n = 56) before exposure to the content to 50% (n = 121) following exposure (P<.001). The addition of transgender medicine content to a medical school curriculum with a focus on the biologic evidence for a durable gender identity is an effective means of educating students about the etiology of gender identity and the appropriateness of cross-sex hormone therapy as a treatment for transgender patients.