Teaching Trans-Centric Curricular Content Using Modified Jigsaw

Date of Review: April, 2024

This resource describes a voluntary, single session, 2-hour exercise on trans health care offered to first-year medical students at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in 2020 and 2021. The session included content on gender-affirming hormone regimens’ effects and side effects, and key questions to ask when interviewing transgender patients. The session’s format and content varied by year. In 2020, after competing a pretest, each of 5 students in a small group received a “packet” with answers to selected pretest questions and accompanying notes; students then took turns facilitating discussion of their assigned questions/topics. In 2021 (during the COVID-19 pandemic), all students watched a 12-minute video of a simulated encounter between a trans patient and a care provider, followed by facilitator-led large group discussion. The resource contains two different modalities for delivering this content, which can be delivered separately or in combination. Strengths include the relative ease of administration, short length of the session, and flexibility of instructional methods. Limitations include the somewhat basic nature of the instructional content, apparently smaller impact of the video (from 2021) on student-reported knowledge, and lack of long-term impact on student knowledge (per the authors’ 1-year posttest results). Additionally, the session was only completed by student volunteers; results reported by the authors may therefore not be generalizable to students who are required to complete the session. Nevertheless, the resource may be of interest to those who are interested in this clinical topic or in the use of “jigsaw” exercises for educational instruction. —Dave Liss, PhD, NCEAS

Corresponding Author’s Email:

cz204@rwjms.rutgers.edu

Institution:

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Where was the Curriculum Implemented:

New Brunswick, NJ

Clinical specialty:

Endocrinology

Outcomes that Have Been Reported for the Curriculum:

Self-reported learner attitude

Self-reported learner knowledge

Self-reported learner behavior in simulated setting

Measured in learner knowledge

Outcome and Study Design:

Pre/Post