Implementing LGBTQ curricula into health professions education

Despite substantial social advances for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals, significant health disparities remain. A contributor to these disparities arises, in part, from the fact that many LGBTQ individuals feel health-care providers have insufficient training to give appropriate care, which may stem from a lack of instruction and exposure in undergraduate medical education. Therefore these issues need to be integrated longitudinally into the medical curriculum. However, not all medical schools have the resources to implement large-scale comprehensive changes to address this need. This chapter describes the development and longitudinal implementation of LGBTQ health into preclerkship medical school education at one medical school. Curricular changes prepared students to care for LGBTQ patients by helping them understand the origin and nature of health disparities within the context of overall health and medicine. This education was provided in a culturally aware environment without the requirement of extensive educational resources. The resulting curriculum and implementation took several forms: (1) faculty-derived structured education, including cultural awareness, sexual history taking, and transgender health; (2) student-derived structured education as a series of cultural awareness forums; and (3) student-derived educational seminars and community outreach symposia. Several lessons were learned during this process: (1) administrative support and faculty motivation are key factors for success. (2) Starting with one course at a time, focusing on courses that readily lend themselves to LGBTQ health education, is effective. (3) Soliciting and using feedback from students to foster their ideas and ensure the inclusion of relevant topics is imperative.