Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of a novel Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) clerkship curriculum in transgender health.
Background: A significant gap in medical education curricula has contributed to health disparities for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) patients. Our institution recently updated its pre-clinical curriculum to include additional TGD care topics. To further this work, we designed and evaluated a novel curriculum to train OB/GYN clerkship students in caring for TGD patients.
Methods: Medical students completing their OB/GYN clerkship at a university academic medical center (January-June 2021) were invited to complete an online module on gender-affirming care and a series of interactive cases. Participants responded to pre-/post-module surveys, assessing their experience caring for TGD patients. Students also completed a scored knowledge assessment before and after the module. Scores were compared with paired t-tests and descriptive statistics were performed.
Results: Twenty students participated in this study. Before the module, 45% agreed they had received adequate TGD health training and 60% felt comfortable providing TGD care. Following module completion, knowledge scores increased 54% (5.1 to 13.2 out of 15; p< 0.001) and participants were more likely to strongly agree that they would care for TGD patients in the future (60% vs. 25%; p = 0.014). Ninety-five percent agreed that the module was valuable for their learning. Qualitatively, students suggested integrating TGD care into pre-clinical curricula.
Discussions: The findings of this study support the need for student education on TGD health. Integration of interactive, case-based TGD-care curricula into clinical training may increase knowledge and comfort in caring for TGD patients.
Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2022, Student, Resident, Faculty, Clerkship Director, Medical Knowledge, Practice-Based Learning & Improvement, UME, Lecture, Problem-Based Learning, Advocacy,
Monica M. Stretten, University of California, San Francisco; Christina N. Schmidt; Jeannette Lager, MD
