(060) Pilot Student-Led Gender Affirming Care Elective for First- and Second-Year Medical Students
Authors: Bains K , Burr E , Ancheta P 
Published: May 2023

Introduction

In 2022, it is estimated that over 1.6 million adults and young people over 13 years old in the U.S. identify as transgender (UCLA Williams Institute). Members of the transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) population face unique health disparities when compared to cisgender individuals, indicating a unique need for medical care. However, there is a dearth of gender-affirming care (GAC) education in undergraduate medical curricula. To address this lack of GAC in medical education, we developed our own curriculum for GAC education utilizing a 7-week student-run elective course for MS1s and MS2s.

Objective

The objective of this study was to provide a pilot course presenting introductory GAC education to MS1s and MS2s. We sought to assess the efficacy of this course by measuring student engagement with course material and soliciting student feedback in survey form.

Methods

Classes were held via Zoom on Monday evenings for two hours. Each class structure consisted of a guest speaker and a facilitator-led activity or lecture. Our class topics included terminology, history, and current affairs; intersectionality and healthcare issues pertinent to the LGBTQIA+ population; STIs, sexual health and trauma-informed care; medical specialties and GAC; HRT and surgery; fertility, family planning and intersex care; and provider and patient panels. Students interacted with course material and each other through a variety of platforms, including D2L, PollEverywhere, and Microsoft Whiteboard. Student feedback was gathered using an anonymous Google Forms survey. Questions included short answer, multiple choice, and linear scale prompts.

Results

There were 32 students who participated in the elective. Upon assessment of student engagement through D2L, we found that 25% (8/32) of the class interacted with 70-100% of the learning materials provided. 90.6% (29/32) of students viewed at least one of the seven learning materials. Upon completion of the course, 34.4% (11/32) of students also completed the feedback survey. 72.7% (8/11) of students surveyed said that student participation was appropriate while 27.3% (3/11) felt that it was too sparse. 81.8% (9/11) of students surveyed felt that time spent hearing from guest speakers was appropriate, while 9.1% (1/11) felt that it was too frequent and 9.1% (1/11) felt that it was too sparse. 100% (11/11) of students surveyed felt that the amount of pre-work was appropriate. Common themes that emerged from student responses were appreciation that most speakers were part of the LGBTQIA+ community and a difference in desired class material; some students thought the class was too introductory while others felt that they learned a lot, indicating differences in student baseline knowledge prior to the course. Common areas for growth that emerged were the need for increased student participation and class discussion and more interaction with pre-work during class.

Conclusions

This course serves as a blueprint for other medical students who may want to provide information on GAC to their peers. We hope to employ the above areas for growth in next year’s course and have a more diverse group of speakers. In the future, this content could be adopted into the our school's standard curriculum, addressing the gap in coursework on GAC.

Disclosure

No