In a continued effort to prepare UNC medical students to provide comprehensive and compassionate care to the people of North Carolina and beyond, the School of Medicine has established a new sexual and gender minority (SGM) health curriculum. Emily Vander Schaaf, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, will lead the initiative.
In a continued effort to prepare UNC medical students to provide comprehensive and compassionate care to the people of North Carolina and beyond, the School of Medicine has established a new sexual and gender minority (SGM) health curriculum. The material will be delivered in multiple sessions longitudinally using various formats, much like other content “coils.”
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other SGM patients have specific health care needs, as recognized by professional organizations from the American Medical Association to the Institute of Medicine and the Joint Commission. UNC SOM is a leader in numerous metrics of diversity and inclusion, and is excited to be expanding its commitment to train expert clinicians and leaders in medicine with a full appreciation of the diversity of human experience. Students of the curriculum will be able to engage with patients using appropriate terminology, understand EHR tools for documenting sexual orientation and gender identity, learn the basic and clinical sciences of gender affirmation, and gain deeper insight into the mechanisms and prevention of health disparities.
Leading this initiative as coil leader will be Emily Vander Schaaf, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Dr. Vander Schaaf is a UNC SOM alum who now sees patients at UNC Pediatrics at Panther Creek. She also precepts residents at Children’s Primary Care on Franklin Street where she co-leads a quality improvement project designed to improve the care of SGM patients. Her project, funded through the UNC Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvement, is designed to increase accurate sexual orientation and gender identification documentation and tailor health screenings that status. Her expertise in SGM health and quality improvement will be a welcome addition to the School of Medicine curriculum leadership.