Art of Transliness

gaywrites:

Medical students may not be receiving the training they need to care for LGBT patients, according to a recent study.

A new survey of U.S. and Canada medical school deans found med schools spend an average of five hours total teaching LGBT-related health. As many as 33 percent provide no LGBT health information during clinical training, when students gain hands-on experience, and 4 percent provide no LGBT health training at all.

The number of hours spent on LGBT health does show a slight increase from previous years, but it’s hardly enough. The health issues taught range from mental health to risk of STDs among the gay community. 

“This survey confirms what we have said all along: Health professional training schools in general do not adequately address LGBT health needs,” said Hector Vargas, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, a nonprofit which aims to combat homophobia in the medical profession.

The Huffington Post article above has a lot more information about this new and important finding. Let’s hope enough people talk about this that we’ll see some changes soon.