Principles and Practices for Developing an Integrated Medical School Curricular Sequence About Sexual and Gender Minority Health

abstract

Problem: Sexual and gender minority patients face well-documented health disparities. One strategy to help overcome disparities is preparing medical trainees to competently provide care for sexual and gender minority patients. The Association of American Medical Colleges has identified professional competencies that medical students should develop to meet sexual and gender minority health needs. However, challenges in the medical education environment may hinder the adoption and implementation of curricular interventions to foster these competencies. Intervention: Our medical education community engaged in curriculum evaluation and subsequently developed a sexual and gender minority topical sequence to promote student development of these competencies. This process was guided by explicit principles and curriculum development practices. Context: This work began at the Yale University School of Medicine in 2014, shortly after the Association of American Medical Colleges published sexual and gender minority health competencies and amidst the development and implementation of a new curriculum at the institution. Impact: We identified core principles and practices to guide the development of an integrated sexual and gender minority health sequence. This process resulted in successful creation of an integrated curricular sequence. At this time, 9 new or enhanced curricular components have been adopted through our process—5 in preclinical, 3 in the clinical, and 1 in the elective, curricula—in addition to the 13 preexisting components that have been updated as appropriate. Feedback about the process from students and faculty has been overwhelmingly positive. Evaluation of curricular components and their effectiveness as an integrated sequence is ongoing. Lessons Learned: Core principles consisted of including a wide range of stakeholders to build consensus, establishing complementary student and faculty roles, using the “language of collaboration” rather than the “language of demand,” presenting sexual and gender minority content in an intersectional manner whenever possible, and balancing sexual and gender minority components across the curriculum. Key practices included mapping curriculum to identify gaps; developing curriculum “pitches”; identifying early and potential later “adopters” among faculty; focusing on faculty ownership of curriculum to facilitate institutionalization; and performing ongoing tracking, assessment, and revision of curriculum.

Keywords:

• Diversity
• sexual minority
• gender minority
• competency-based education

Acknowledgments

The initiative described in this article received the 2017 Innovation in Medical Education Award from the AAMC Northeast Group on Educational Affairs (NEGEA). The award was made after the project was implemented and, as such, was not a grant to underwrite the project. We thank the NEGEA for this monetary award, which was used to support continued SGM-related curriculum at the Yale School of Medicine