Objectives The CAEP 2021 2SLGBTQIA + i panel sought whether a gap exists within Canadian emergency medicine training pertaining to sexual and gender minority communities. This panel aimed to generate practical recommendations on improving emergency medicine education about sexual and gender minorities, thereby improving access to equitable healthcare. Methods From August 2020 to June 2021, a panel of emergency medicine practitioners, residents, students, and community representatives met monthly via videoconference. A literature review was undertaken, and three mixed methods surveys were distributed to the CAEP member list, CAEP Resident Section, College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) iii Emergency Medicine Members Interest Group, and to emergency medicine residency program directors and their residents. Informed by the review and surveys, recommendations were drafted and refined by panel members before presentation at the 2021 CAEP Academic Symposium. A plenary was presented to symposium attendees composed of national emergency medicine community members, which reported the survey results and literature review. All attendees were divided into small groups to develop an action plan for each recommendation. Conclusions The panel outlines eight recommendations for closing the curricular gap. It identifies three perceived or real barriers to the inclusion of sexual and gender minority content in emergency medicine residency curricula. It acknowledges three enabling recommendations that are beyond the scope of individual emergency medicine programs or emergency departments (EDs), that if enacted would enable the implementation of the recommendations. Each recommendation is accompanied by two action items as a guide to implementation. Each of the three barriers is accompanied by two action items that offer specific solutions to overcome these obstacles. Each enabling recommendation suggests an action that would shift emergency medicine towards sociocultural competence nationally. These recommendations set the primary steps towards closing the educational gap.
Background/Purpose: Physicians are in a powerful position to improve the health status of communities through mitigating disparities rooted in social inequities. However, it is uncertain whether medical schools are preparing future physicians with the skills needed to care for diverse populations. The current scoping review aimed to describe how Canadian medical schools teach social justice, comparing pedagogical strategies. Methods: A search was performed using OVID to identify published studies of implemented and evaluated social justice-based interventions within Canadian medical school curricula. Results: Six studies were included. Common themes included increased content knowledge, greater understanding of SDoH, acknowledgement of power and privilege imbalances, identification of physicians' roles as advocates, emphasis on the importance of interdisciplinary care, and increased capacity for self-reflection and personal growth. Experiential interventions were associated with greater personal transformation, but had limited accessibility. Conclusion: Despite the widespread recognition of physicians' roles as health advocates, there is a lack of consensus about an effective strategy for teaching social justice in medical education in Canada. While additional research focusing on the relative merits of didactic versus experiential learning is needed, these preliminary results suggest that experiential learning emphasizing self-reflection and personal growth may be optimal when approaching transformative learning.
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