Project: Medical Students' Preparedness and Comfort With Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Patient Care

Assess medical students' levels of preparedness and comfort with LGBT patient care and evaluate their perspectives on LGBT health and LGBT health care.

In this study, we evaluate the state of LGBT-related curricular content from the student perspective. A mixed-methods design was chosen to answer the following questions: What do medical students think about their education on LGBT health and health care? How prepared and comfortable do they feel in caring for LGBT patients? To answer these questions, we present data from two sources: a questionnaire of 4262 allopathic and osteopathic medical students across the U.S. and Canada, and focus group interviews with 35 allopathic medical students in the U.S.

Web-based questionnaire sent to medical students (n=4262) and focus group interviews at 5 institutions (n=35).

• American Medical Association: Medical Students Section
• American Medical Student Association
• Student Osteopathic Medical Association
• Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents
• Canadian Federation of Medical Students

• Association of American Medical Colleges. Institutional Programs and Educational Activities to Address the Needs of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Students and Patients. Washington, DC: Association of American Medical Colleges; 2007.

• Rondahl G. Students' inadequate knowledge about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. Int J Nurs Educ Scholarsh. 2009; 6(1):Article 11.

• Smith DM, Mathews WC. Physicians' attitudes toward homosexuality and HIV: survey of a California Medical Society- revisited (PATHH-II). J Homosex. 2007; 52(3-4):1-9.

• Vanderleest JG, Galper CQ. Improving the health of transgender people: transgender medical education in Arizona. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. Sep-Oct 2009; 20(5):411-416.

• Wallick MM, Cambre KM, Townsend MH. How the topic of homosexuality is taught at U.S. medical schools. Acad Med. Sep 1992; 67(9):601-603.

Data in this paper were presented at the: 2010 Gay and Lesbian Medical Association Conference, 2010 Massachusetts Medical Society’s 5th Annual Research Poster Symposium for Residents, Fellows, and Medical Students, 2010 Stanford University School of Medicine Fall Community Health Forum, 2010 Association of American Medical Colleges Research in Medical Education Conference, 2011 American Education Researcher Association Conference, 2011 Association of American Medical Colleges Western Group on Educational Affairs, and at the 2011 Stanford Medical Student Research Symposium.

William White, M.A.