Supporting transgender and gender diverse medical students

Abstract

“Is he wearing a dress? Men shouldn't wear dresses.” It was the first comment by a patient during morning rounds. The medical student he was referring to had introduced themself with they/them pronouns several days earlier. This real-life scenario, which one of us (NWF) recently experienced, is all too common for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) medical students. As the patient started to ask if the student was “really” a man, the attending physician spoke up to say that the patient's behaviour was inappropriate and would not be tolerated.