Exploring Sexual and Gender Minorities Health Teaching Competencies in United States Medical School: Experience and Evidence From the Field

Abstract

Background: Clinicians and medical institutions have become increasingly aware that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual, intersex et al. (LGBTQIA+) individuals constitute sexual and gender minorities (SGM) with unique healthcare needs. While some guidance in the literature may help the medical school to implement SGM teaching programs in their curricula, fewer studies have used empirical data from medical educators themselves as compared to students' ratings to define SGM teaching competencies. We sought to identify the competencies to teach SGM contents from the medical teachers' perspective. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty medical educators representing eight different specialties. Purposive and snowball sampling was utilized, followed by qualitative content analysis to analyze transcripts and generate emerging themes regarding teaching competencies in SGM health teaching. Results: Analysis revealed ten characteristics of teaching SGM health which then emerged into four themes; 1) effective pedagogy approach; 2) creating a welcoming space; 3) social and community connectedness, and 4) the essential nature of communication. Conclusions: Our study points to the essential competencies in SGM health teaching. The characteristic of teaching competencies described in this article will provide medical educators with a framework of strategies to develop and deliver SGM health content to the students.