Assessing Patient Goals for Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy: A Standardized Patient Case for Medical Students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Disparities
• Transgender Health

Background:

• Inadequate transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) health education in undergraduate medical education (UME) leads to a shortage of competent physicians.
• This gap contributes to significant health disparities faced by TGD individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a standardized patient (SP) case designed to assess and improve TGD health competencies and attitudes among medical students.
• To enhance the skills-based curriculum in UME for TGD health.

Main Methods:

• An interdisciplinary team, including individuals with lived TGD experience, created an SP case.
• Second-year medical students at the University of Pittsburgh completed the case in January 2020.
• Student and faculty assessments included self-reports, faculty evaluations, and SP video reviews.

Main Results:

• 70 medical students reported significantly increased preparedness to care for TGD patients and obtain gender histories (p < .001).
• Faculty and students agreed on the importance of TGD health skills and the value of the SP case in the curriculum.

Conclusions:

• The SP case effectively assessed and improved students' ability to take gender histories and discuss hormone therapy goals.
• This educational intervention can help train medical students in TGD health care, addressing barriers TGD patients face.
• Integrating such cases into curricula is crucial for competent TGD health care delivery.