Abstract
ABSTRACTLesbian, 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.
Highlights
A growing body of evidence highlights the ongoing health disparities that negatively impact lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex (LGBTQI), and gender nonconforming communities [1]
We describe the creation and implementation of a novel student-organized, interprofessional elective to address the LGBTQI educational gap within our institution
Members of the planning committee engage in discussions surrounding scope of practice and professional roles in the context of providing healthcare to LGBTQI patients, as these become paramount in terms of creating the Forum schedule and its content
Summary
A growing body of evidence highlights the ongoing health disparities that negatively impact lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex (LGBTQI), and gender nonconforming communities [1]. The inequities often result from gaps in providers’ clinical education and patients’ prior negative interactions, the latter characterized by the refusal of treatment, poor bedside manner, and verbal abuse from providers In response to these inequities, the US Department of Health and Human Services published an ongoing annual report detailing efforts to combat LGBTQI health disparities and the Joint Commission issued a field guide to aid hospitals in providing more appropriate care. Numerous groups, including the American Association of Medical Colleges [2] and other professional organizations, have called for incorporation of LGBTQI health content into curricula for health professionals. Despite these efforts, a paucity of LGBTQI-specific health knowledge and training persists among providers. We hope that by sharing this curricular innovation and our plans for further evaluation and improvement, other institutions may benefit
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