The National Student Sex- and Gender-based Education Initiative: A Student-led Approach to Medical Education and Advocacy
Interprofessional Student Poster Description: Fewer than 20% of medical schools have incorporated a sex and gender-based health education (SGHE) curriculum that goes beyond the scope of traditional ObGyn. (Jenkins et al. 2016). 94% of medical students acknowledge that understanding SGBM enhances patient management, but only 25% feel adequately prepared to address sex and gender differences in their practice. To address this gap, the Sex and Gender Health Collaborative (SGHC) of the American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) launched a National Student Sex and Gender Education Initiative. AMWA, in collaboration with the NIH and other organizations, has co-sponsored 4 Sex and Gender Health Education Summits, 2 of which included education leaders in interdisciplinary fields.
At the 2020 Summit, four universal SGHE Educational Tenets were defined (Kling, Sleeper 2022). The current initiative aims to enhance conventional medical and interprofessional curricula by developing SGHE educational materials in collaboration with faculty mentors, pre-medical and medical students across the United States. Over 200 students were recruited and placed into 75 teams, creating SGHE-focused factsheets for 52 medical conditions. Additional student-led support committees were: fundraising, implementation and dissemination, social media, and evaluation/publishing.
To assess understanding and enhancement of SGHE knowledge, and advancement of collaborator connections, we conducted pre- and post-implementation surveys. Pre-implementation, 51% of 120 respondents reported that sex and gender differences are “mostly not” or “not at all” incorporated in their current curriculum. Post-implementation, 89% of 142 respondents are interested in continuing this work and would recommend it to others. About 94% felt more knowledgeable in SGHE, 61% enjoyed collaborating with others, and 27% liked learning more about SGHE in their chosen topic. When asked what one best thing they learned, 67% listed knowledge of sex and gender differences in health, and 10% noted enhanced collaboration skills.
To date, students presented this project at 13 national and interprofessional conferences. Engaging students in SGHE national initiatives and advocating for SGHE education and training appears valuable and well-received. Participants showed enthusiasm for SGHE and a strong desire to advocate for it. This initiative serves as a framework to raise SGHE awareness at all levels of training and practice across all professions. We aim to establish a model for promoting SGHE and pave the way for broader implementation.
