Gender-Affirming Care With Transgender and Genderqueer Patients: A Standardized Patient Case

Date of Review: April, 2024

This curriculum, from MedEd Portal, describes the use of a standardized patient (SP) case to educate third-year medical students on gender-affirming care with transgender and genderqueer patients. In the curriculum, students are asked to provide a new patient history with the SP, who has come to clinic to establish primary care (i.e., student not informed prior to the case that their LGBTQ+ clinical skills were being assessed). Students were then assessed by instructors and the SP with regard to gender-inclusive communication, applying best practices related to gender-affirming care in a primary care setting, and making appropriate preventive care recommendations to transgender and gender-diverse patients. This curriculum has several strengths, especially in how it assesses students’ ability to provide whole-person primary care and preventive care recommendations to transgender and gender-diverse communities (without solely focusing on topics such as hormone therapy). Additionally, the SP case is flexible enough to be adopted/used by many SPs, regardless of their gender identity or sex assigned at birth. The largest limitation of the curriculum is the amount of resources required to deliver it effectively. Most notably, substantial training was needed for all SPs (six 2-hour trainings). Some institutions may also need to recruit and hire new SPs from local transgender and gender-diverse communities, which may be challenging if they are not already engaging with these communities. Nevertheless, the quality and value of this curriculum should make it of interest to educators interested in training medical students on gender-affirming care with transgender and genderqueer patients. –Dave Liss, PhD, NCEAS

Corresponding Author’s Email:

laura.weingartner@louisville.edu

Institution:

University of Louisville

Where was the Curriculum Implemented:

Louisville, KY

Clinical specialty:

Internal Medicine

Outcomes that Have Been Reported for the Curriculum:

Measured learner attitude

Self-reported learner knowledge

Self-reported learner behavior in simulated setting

Measured learner behavior in simulated setting

Outcome and Study Design:

Randomized, Controlled

Level of Learner Assessment

Demonstration of skill in a controlled environment (OSCE, Simulation)

 

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