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Education for transgender care still needed
Survey results reveal that many endocrinologists are still in need of education and training for transgender care.
“With more transgender patients in the health care system, my findings identified that more research and more training is necessary to provide much needed, culturally competent care to transgender patients,” Michael S. Irwig, MD, associate professor of medicine in the division of endocrinology and Center for Andrology at The George Washington University in Washington D.C., said in a press release. “The transgender community represents one of the most underserved and marginalized populations in health care. It is therefore up to the physician population to become more familiar with their needs and train the next generation to be culturally competent and prepared to treat this growing community.”
Irwig evaluated results from a 19-item paper survey administered to 80 conference attendees, including 61 adult endocrinologists, 13 endocrinology fellows, two pediatric endocrinologists and four nurse practitioners/physician assistants. Irwig sought to determine the knowledge, practice patterns, access and competency of caring for transgender patients.
Most participants worked in a single specialty practice (75%) and 25% in a multispecialty group. Twenty percent of participants reported they desired more transgender patients, 14% desired fewer and 67% had no preference.
Most providers reported having no transgender patients, but 63% reported they were willing to provide transgender care. The Endocrine Society’s practice guidelines were reportedly read by half of the participants, 70% of whom were younger than 40 years.
Twenty percent of participants reported they were “very” comfortable discussing gender identity and/or sexual orientation, and 41% reported they were “somewhat” or “very” competent to provide care to transgender patients.
“Progress has been made, but there is still more work to be done,” Irwig said in the release. “More exposure to transgender patients during residency and more research on interventions to overcome discomfort in discussing sexuality and gender are needed.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: Irwig reports no relevant financial disclosures.