Conscientious Objection to Gender-Affirming Surgery: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Plastic Surgery and Urology Residency Programs.
J Surg Educ
; 81(11): 1675-1682, 2024 Sep 16.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39288511
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Medical conscientious objection is a federally protected right of physicians to refuse participation in medically indicated services or research activities that are incompatible with their ethical, moral, or religious beliefs. Individual provider objections to gender-affirming surgery have been documented, however the prevalence of such objections is unknown. Our study aimed to characterize physician objections to gender-affirming surgery in plastic surgery and urology residencies and to assess related institutional policies. DESIGN, SETTING,PARTICIPANTS:
A cross-sectional electronic survey was administered to program leadership of 239 accredited US plastic surgery and urology residencies from February to October 2023. Trainee exposure to gender-affirming surgery, programmatic experience with objections, and presence and content of institutional objection policies were collected. Bivariate analyses were performed to determine associations with objectors.RESULTS:
One-hundred and twenty-four plastic surgery (nâ¯=â¯59) and urology (nâ¯=â¯65) residencies completed the survey, representing a 52% response rate. Most programs included didactic training (nâ¯=â¯107, 86%) and direct clinical exposure (nâ¯=â¯98, 79%) to gender-affirming surgery. Few (nâ¯=â¯24, 19%) endorsed existent objection policies. Sixteen programs (13%) experienced objections to gender-affirming surgery by trainees (nâ¯=â¯15), faculty (nâ¯=â¯6), and staff (nâ¯=â¯1). Neither geographic region, exposure to gender-affirming surgery, nor presence of objection policies significantly contributed to programmatic objections. Programs with formal objection policies reported increased confidence in addressing future objection events (pâ¯=â¯0.017).CONCLUSIONS:
Objection to gender-affirming surgery is a rare, but plausible occurrence amongst plastic surgery and urology trainees. Residency programs should consider anticipatory policies to protect patients and, when feasible, provide reasonable accommodations for objecting trainees.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Surg Educ
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article