How is gender integrated in the curricula of Dutch medical schools? A quick‐scan on gender issues as an instrument for change

Abstract

Medical education has not taken on board the growing awareness of sex and gender differences. A nation-wide project to incorporate sex and gender in medical education aims to establish longitudinal gender and sex specific curricula in all Dutch medical schools that move beyond sex and gender differences in reproduction. A baseline assessment was necessary to gain an overview on the state of the art of sex and gender in Dutch medical curricula and on the courses that were suitable to integrate sex and gender differences. A quick-scan demonstrates that sex and gender differences beyond reproduction are mostly ignored. Results have been used to create the necessary commitment of policy-makers in all Dutch faculties to take further steps towards establishing longitudinal genderspecific medical curricula.

From gender bias to gender awareness in medical education

“…A gender-specific medical curriculum is a prerequisite for a gender-specific health care and is a catalyst for reform towards social change (e.g. Bickel 2001;Verdonk et al 2006).…”

“…So far, medical curricula have not been transformed nor by the growing research on women's health issues neither by the growing numbers of female students in medical school. Medical education still lacks coverage of issues pertaining to women in teachings about certain disorders (male bias), lack of female subjects in medical research (gender blindness), cross-discipline aspects of women's health (gender inequality) thereby still exposing gender bias (Weisman 2000;Verdonk et al 2006). Subtle gender bias may be apparent in classroom gender stereotypes and in education material (gender role ideology).…”

“…'Objective' biomedical aspects of gender issues may then disappear into seemingly neutral but superficial and biased knowledge (Henrich 2004;Verdonk et al submitted). Therefore, it is important that the incorporation of gender issues is advanced by the intervention of current leadership in medical schools (Donoghue 2000;Verdonk et al 2006). Institutional commitment is not only indicated by a high level of support by the dean and senior faculty, but also by the allocation of financial resources and time Nicolette and Jacobs 2000).…”

“…The active participation of men in discussing gender issues in medical education as well as the conscious leadership of senior academic women may prevent the maintenance of the status quo where gender issues are regarded as of secondary importance (Wainer 2003;Westerståhl et al 2003;Risberg et al 2003;Hamberg and Johansson 2006;Verdonk 2007). Certainly, meetings about curricular gaps in gender issues with faculty leadership and course organizers is productive (Verdonk et al 2005;Verdonk et al 2006).…”

Breaking in and breaking out a medical school: feminist academic interrupted?

“…The popular discourses of feminisation of medicine and decline of medical professionalism associated to a large extent with women doctors' flexible patterns of work, have rendered feminism redundant and gender equality in medicine and medical education problematic (Tsouroufli and Payne, 2008;Tsouroufli et al, 2011b;Ozbilgin et al, 2011). Moreover, resistance to gender mainstreaming of undergraduate formal medical curricula (Hafferty and Castellani, 2009;Verdonk et al, 2005Verdonk et al, , 2006 and the encouragement of stereotypically masculine identities (e.g. competitive, heroic) through the hidden medical curriculum (Jaye et al, 2006(Jaye et al, , 2010 has left no space for feminist theory and praxis in Medical Schools.…”