Bringing the homosexual patient out: teaching the doctor's role.
Little attention is given in the medical school curriculum to providing care for the 5-10% of the population that is homosexual. An elective course was developed to promote more positive attitudes among doctors-in-training towards homosexual patients. The format was primarily small group discussion between students and articulate homosexual people around societal biases towards homosexuals and issues of health care delivery. Students from this seminar and a control group from another elective completed an attitude questionnaire before and after the course. The study group became more accepting towards homosexual lifestyles significantly in 12 of 15 measures while no difference was found in the control group. Students' reaction to this learning experience was highly positive: they appreciated the opportunity to learn about same-sex life-styles in a personal and nonthreatening way, thus enabling them to accept and better care for homosexual people.
D001130:Arizona; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D005260:Female; D006716:Homosexuality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010819:Physician's Role; D012380:Role