Queering the Medical Curriculum: How to Design, Develop, Deliver and Assess Learning Outcomes Relevant to LGBT Health for Health Care Professionals

Abstract

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons have specific healthcare needs, and experience unique barriers in accessing health services. Research has suggested that medical practitioners are inadequately prepared to address the needs of the LGBT population. While some strategies for training such practitioners within medical schools have been proposed, few have been evaluated, and the best approach to training physicians in LGBTfocused care has yet to be determined. The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of the LGBT-focused curriculum currently delivered at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, specifically in terms of its perceived contribution to students' understanding of LGBT health issues. Results showed that the curriculum introduced at NOSM was effective in increasing knowledge medical students had on LGBT health issues regardless of their preexisting level of awareness of LGBT health issues. Further, the study found that the level of experience and expertise of the facilitator helping deliver the curriculum was key in achieving this educational goal. We also evaluated three assessment modalities (Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), and Clinical Decision-Making Cases (CDM)) for validity and reliability in testing the course objectives. Results indicate that outcomes can be reliably assessed by these three types of assessments.

The case for a Canadian standard for 2SLGBTQIA+ medical education

“…2 Moreover, little is known about which methodologies best serve students and 2SLGBTQIA+ patients, as few curricular strategies have undergone evaluation. 33 Limited distribution of comprehensive resources for 2SLG-BTQIA+ medical students and resident trainees also makes collaboration and research challenging, especially as there are few opportunities for 2SLGBTQIA+ health experts to work with medical trainees. 1…”

“…Studies of 2SLGBTQIA+ workshops at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the University of Louisiana found that such interventions were effective and informative and revealed a gap in learners' knowledge; the studies concluded that medical education can play a role in ending health disparities. 33,35 Even a few hours of additional exposure to 2SLGBTQIA+ education increased the confidence of learners in Canada and the US to treat 2SLGBTQIA+ patients. 33,37 Greater exposure to 2SLGBTQIA+ medical education has been correlated with improved sexual history-taking, more comprehensive preventive health counselling and fewer signs of prejudice during patient intake interviews.…”

“…33,35 Even a few hours of additional exposure to 2SLGBTQIA+ education increased the confidence of learners in Canada and the US to treat 2SLGBTQIA+ patients. 33,37 Greater exposure to 2SLGBTQIA+ medical education has been correlated with improved sexual history-taking, more comprehensive preventive health counselling and fewer signs of prejudice during patient intake interviews. 33 Therefore, the inclusion of 2SLGBTQIA+ content in medical curricula is an incomplete, but substantive, intervention on behalf of 2SLGBTQIA+ people.…”

HIV among men who have sex with men in the Caribbean: reaching the left behind

“…One major recommendation by the World Health Organization (WHO), prior to the start of the International AIDS conference in Melbourne since 2014 was the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for all MSM as an additional HIV prevention method ( 30 ). In 2018, only the Bahamas and Barbados were providing PrEP through the public health system.…”

Queering the Curriculum: Why Music Therapy and Other Creative Arts Therapy Trainings Need Queer Theory

“…Multiple papers have presented the value of queering the curriculum in higher education (Reddy, 2018); including within disciplines such as sociology (Yip, 2018), teacher education (Rosiek, Schmitke, & Heffernan. 2017), and medical education (Dudar et al, 2018). Resources that directly reference queering of the music therapy curriculum are sparse although many in music therapy have called for greater awareness in queer support training and practice (For example, Bain, Grzanka, & Crowe, 2016;Hadley & Gumble, 2019;Hadley & Thomas, 2018;Whitehead-Pleaux et al, 2012;York & Curtis, 2015).…”