On May 21, the Adler School of Professional Psychology, the Chicago Department of Public Health and University of Illinois at Chicago presented a panel discussion of LGBT issues in the health-care curriculum that streamed live on the Internet.
Bechara Choucair, MD, MS, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, addressed the need to include LGBT issues in health-care coursework. "When compared to straight students, LGB youth are more likely to try smoking, they are more likely to use hard drugs, they are less likely to use condoms when engaged in sexual intercourse, they are more likely to be obese, and they are more likely to go without food for at least 24 hours in order to lose weight," he said. "The health disparities are very real for many members of the LGBT community."
Kim Hunt, MS, executive director of Affinity Community Services, said, "Alot of times [LGBT] people are doing this by themselves and that creates a whole other set of issues to deal with as a healthcare professional. ... The LGBT community is a lot more diverse than some of the media images would have us believe and that again has a huge impact on health and access to health."
Professor Jesus Ramirez-Valle, Ph.D., MPH, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, teaches an entire course devoted to sexual minority health. He said, "We talk briefly all the way from the genetics ... to the political processes of how people get to be named LGBT." Ramirez-Valle said he aims "to provide [the students] the skills to do research ... [and] identify effective interventions for the particular issues."
But Kevin Osten-Garner, Psy.D, associate vice president of academic affairs at Adler School of Professional Psychology, has an issue with elective LGBT coursework. He stated, "I don't want to preach to the choir. What I want is that every graduate of this institution regardless of your degree program know how to talk and treat LGBTQ people with respect and confidence ... because all of our professional standards in the mental health field require that of them." Adler now has a faculty resource database to help its faculty incorporate LGBT issues into every course.
But there are several challenges to providing LGBT coursework. Said Ramirez-Valle, "I was afraid of teaching this course. ... I want people to know me for the skills and expertise that I have, not for the person I love." Frank Hicks, Ph.D., RN, an assistant dean at Rush University Medical Center, mentioned the financial and faculty time restraints on curriculum.
Rush University Medical Center professor Tanya Friese, RN, MSN, said these challenges have been met by incorporating current events into the coursework using case studies or application. However, she added that the culture on campus is just as important as the curriculum. Said Hicks, "All of the administrators had to have a diversity performance goal and the faculty did too."
Rush introduces sexuality very early on in the nursing path and offers regular "lunch and learns" as well as Howard Brown's HEALE for continuing education credit. Poj Lysouvokon, MD, director of the General Care Nursery at Comer Children's Hospital, added, "We have a pediatric committee on diversity making sure that our residency class for pediatricians is well balanced." Comer holds book clubs and has guest speakers.