Implementing an Innovative Transgender and Gender Diverse Health Curriculum for Physician Assistant (PA) Students

The large gaps in gender diverse medical knowledge among clinicians contribute to the healthcare disparities experienced by transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals.Though many physician assistant (PA) programs provide TGD content, most of this content is focused on medical interviewing. Barriers to teaching TGD health topics include low faculty knowledge and lack of time. We created a video-based TGD curriculum to increase PA student medical knowledge and confidence in gender-affirming hormone therapy management.

Our 90-minute, novel curriculum targeting PA students was based on a video case with a transgender woman presenting for gender-affirming therapy. We employed learning strategies including didactics, active learning, and video. Medical knowledge and attitudes towards TGD individuals before and after the intervention were measured using t tests.

After the session, significantly more PA students reported having adequate medical knowledge regarding gender diverse care (P < .0001) and increased confidence in providing care for this population (P < .01). PA students indicated more positive attitudes towards TGD individuals. Post-test scores on medical knowledge questions were higher compared to prior to the workshop (P > .05).

This workshop taught PA students how to prescribe and monitor gender-affirming hormone therapy and provide basic counseling by combining multiple learning techniques. By significantly increasing students' self-perception of confidence and medical knowledge in TGD care, and altering attitudes towards TGD individuals, our workshop is effective by increasing preparedness for students to engage in TGD care. This workshop can be easily adapted for myriad healthcare trainees.