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[Resources] [Careers] [GLBT Health] [Allies] [Religion]
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Our mission:
Advocacy
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raise awareness of GLBT health issues among Canadian
medical students
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educate future physicians in competent quality healthcare for GLBT
patients
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dispel the stigma, misconceptions, & stereotypes of GLBT people in
society
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combat the anti-gay prejudice, heterosexism and ignorance in medicine
Support
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provide a sense of community for GLBT medical
students and physicians in Canada
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share knowledge and resources on teaching and advocacy materials
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support GLBT med students and physicians who're coming to terms of their
sexual identities
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network with other GLBT health professionals, health educators and
activists
Our statement on sexual diversity & acceptance in medical schools:
(modified from the original article
by Louie Chan and Justine Dembo, published in March 2004 Issue of The Pulse, the U of T Medical Student
Newspaper)
“The Morality of
Prejudice:
Calling for Acceptance of Sexual Minorities in Medical Schools”
In
October 2003, former University
of Toronto President Robert Birgeneau
released a public statement calling the university community to celebrate its
sexual diversity in the same manner it celebrates cultural and ethnic
diversity (go to http://www.utoronto.ca/president/201003.htm to see the full
statement). “I believe that as an institution of higher education, we have an
obligation to show leadership in areas where the general public may lag
behind,” Birgeneau wrote. In addressing the issues of gender and sexuality,
“we cannot let controversy or inflexible opinions deter us from raising
awareness and promoting understanding," he wrote. "We must set a
precedent for the rest of society by recognizing – and celebrating – our
diversity as one of our greatest strengths.” Birgeneau recognized that
homophobia still exists on campus. He stated no member of the community
should feel like any less a member due to sexual orientation or gender
identity.
However,
the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) medical
students remain challenging. Accounts of family disapproval, fear of
ostracism, depression, and even suicidal thoughts have highlighted the health
hazard imposed upon LGBT med students from societal prejudice. Negative
attitudes affect the daily lives of LGBT med students: we can tell that some
classmates are avoiding us after finding out that we are gay. We often hear
students making “jokes” with references to the stereotypes of LGBT people,
such as teasing athletic female classmates to dress up “like a lesbian;” or
joking about students of the same gender sharing the same bed during MedGames.
Such insensitive remarks imply that being LGBT is undesirable, and causes
those of us who are not comfortable to openly challenge those stereotypes to
feel extremely uneasy and further marginalized. Obviously, this
stigmatization is putting an extra burden onto LGBT med students.
Every
time we disclose our identity, we risk prejudice and contempt from fellow
classmates; but if we hide it, we are assumed to be heterosexual and we would
feel invisible. Of course the subject of sexual orientation does come up when
med students socialize: questions like “Do you have a girlfriend?”
automatically assume attraction to the opposite sex. When we bring our
partners to the social functions we have to worry about being the subject of
disapproving looks and whispers. And for those who hide their identity, they
must be conscious not to talk about their same-sex partners even though their
partners are an important part of their lives.
For
these reasons, a new group has formed for Ontario LGBT med students to
discuss the common challenges we face and to develop strategies to increase
awareness of LGBT issues in medical schools. For instance, we asked the
Faculty to join the inter-university campus-wide Positive
Space Campaign by putting up posters with an
We are concerned that some
physicians’ judgments about LGBT individuals will affect the way they provide
care to these patients, thereby breaching the professional standards of
altruism, compassion, and equity. These physicians who believe that all gays
are sinful and promiscuous and that the so-called “homosexual lifestyle” can be “cured” often did not
consider all the facts and our history of oppression; and any negative
attitudes that linger in the society would still perpetrate the homophobia
that traumatizes countless hate crime victims like Matthew Shepard. Prejudice
hurts us all: It not only hurts those targeted for marginalization, it also
robs those doing the hating of their full humanity; because such disapproval
compromises human integrity by pressuring people to treat others badly, which
are actions that are contrary to their basic humanity, and by preventing
people from appreciating all forms of diversity in the society. Therefore,
medical students should value the opportunity to come together in an
environment where all are free to affirm and celebrate our differences, and
to learn about how our differences impact us as people and as future
physicians.
Another article that speaks to our
missions:
IS
THERE HOMOPHOBIA IN MEDICAL EDUCATION CRITERIA?
By: Nina Ghosh, MD, University of
Western Ontario,
Class of 2005
(Originally
published in the CFMS 2005 Wellness Package)
There are a wide range of thoughts,
actions and emotions that constitute homophobia. Despite a seemingly
sensitive and tolerant era in medical education, research shows that
homophobia exists and is active among medical students and professionals.
(3) Homophobia may take several forms that could affect the
psyche and career path of the medical student: from a
careless remark or joke that demeans a homosexual patient to denying gay,
lesbian or bisexual students admission to medical school or marking them down
during training on the basis of their sexual orientation. It may occur
covertly as a refusal to refer patients to a gay doctor or overtly as denial
of a residency position to a homosexual or bisexual doctor.
In 1994, for instance, the Gay and Lesbian
Medical Association conducted a survey to medical professionals and students
in an attempt to quantify homophobic attitudes in the medical environment.
(4) One fifth of the respondents reported being denied referrals,
one third had
experienced “verbal harassment or insult by their medical colleagues” and two
thirds feared that homosexual and bisexual doctors would risk losing their
practices if colleagues learned of their sexual orientation. These
results indicate that many gay medical students and professionals face, not
only the usual challenges of medical practice, but also the challenge of
feeling less accepted and even discriminated in their work environments.
Despite medical curricula emphasizing a
non-judgmental, culturally and socially sensitive approach to patient care,
as much as one third of homosexual doctors have come face to face with explicit
anti-homosexual remarks. (5) The fact that a large proportion of
doctors fear losing their
practices if colleagues were to discover their sexual orientation means that
medical professionals feel pressures in addition to the normal pressures that
accompany the practice of medicine. Gay doctors encounter societal
pressures to conceal sexual orientation and to live with the emotionally
scarring consequences of ostracism and the prospect of being unable to
live in a fully liberated manner.
Fortunately, there is evidence that
negative attitudes towards homosexual and bisexual doctors are improving.
A comparison of a study conducted by Mathews et al in 1982 to a
parallel study conducted in 1996 showed that fewer doctors in the 1996 doctors
would deny admission to medical school to highly qualified homosexual
applicants (4% vs. 30% in the 1982 study) (1). Furthermore, 35% fewer
doctors in 1996 would discourage a homosexual or bisexual doctor from
becoming a pediatrician. Finally, 91% of the doctors surveyed in 1996
indicated they would refer patients to a gay psychiatrist colleague whereas
only 57% of doctors surveyed in 1982 would
refer to such a doctor. These results indicate a definitive shift in
the attitudes of doctors towards their gay colleagues over the past few
years, probably reflecting increasing societal acceptance of homosexuality.
It also means that being gay has much less of an impact on professional
acceptance
than it did in the past.
Improvement in attitudes towards gay
medical students and doctors is also evident in extracurricular services.
Support services for gay, lesbian, and bisexual medical students and
residents, while not universal, seem to be increasing. (5) A 1994
survey of 185 homosexual and bisexual medical students from 92 medical
schools found that 70% of the students had a gay,
lesbian, and bisexual support group at their school. Nine of the medical
schools had an official liaison for gay, lesbian, and bisexual students (up
from four in 1990). (6) Clearly there has been recognition in many
medical schools that gay students need support from professionals that
recognize the special issues that they must face. As the current
generation of medical students enters the working environment, hopefully
there will be a more accepting, freer environment for gay doctors to reveal
their sexual orientation. What is clear, however, that more needs to
be done before an environment of tolerance and open mindedness becomes a
universal and
unquestionable reality in medical practice
HOW DO WE ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS FACED BY GAY MDs AND STUDENTS?
Several studies indicate that the key to
improving the gay doctor’s own openness and honesty in the health services is
a more explicit attention of medical education towards homosexual and
bisexual health issues. Makadon suggests incorporating such teaching in
all aspects of training. (5) Several studies show that medical students
who are acquainted with a gay man or a lesbian have better attitudes toward
them.
Burke et al suggest that when and where it
feels safe, lesbian, gay, and bisexual doctors should join others in the
workplace in the casual, honest conversations that pertain to career, family,
and personal choices. (6) They stipulate that these informal
conversations provide a great aid to physician well-being and that a
reciprocal listening ear by other doctors to this shared
information contribute to a positive and friendly environment.
In circumstances of a real or perceived threat to livelihood, family,
or personal safety upon coming out, Burke et al suggest tolerance and
patience within the homosexual and bisexual doctor community.
REFERENCES
(1) Ridson, C, Cook, D, Willms, D. Gay and lesbian
physicians in training a qualitative study. CMAJ. ; 162(3):
331-4.
(2) Rose L. Homophobia among doctors. BMJ. 1994 Feb
26;308(6928):586-7.
(3) Brogan DJ, Frank E, Elon L, Sivanesan SP, O'Hanlan KA.
Harassment of lesbians as medical students and physicians. JAMA. 1999 Oct 6;282(13):1290,
1292.
(4) Gibson G, Saunders DE. Gay patients. Context for care.
Can Fam Physician. 1994 Apr;40:721-5.
(5) Oriel KA, MadlonKay DJ, Govaker D, Mersy DJ. Gay and lesbian
physicians in training: family practice program directors' attitudes and
students' perceptions of bias. Fam Med. 1996;28:720
(6) Burke BP, White JC. Wellbeing of gay, lesbian, and bisexual
doctors. BMJ. 2001 Feb 17;322(7283):422-5.
_______________________________________________
[Resources] [Careers] [GLBT Health] [Allies] [Religion]
_______________________________________________
Questions?
Comments? Feel free to contact us at glbtmeds@yahoo.com
This
website is sponsored by Diversity in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine,
University of Toronto. We would like to thank Alia Qureshi Emili for the
original website creation and design and the University of Toronto for
providing us the webspace. The materials found on this website do not
necessarily reflect the views of the University of Toronto
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