Reflecting on Progress in and Establishing Benchmarks for Sex and Gender Health Education.

ABSTRACT: Sex and gender influence every aspect of human health; thus, sex- and gender-related topics should be incorporated in all aspects of health education curricula. Sex and gender health education (SGHE) is the rigorous, intersectional, data-driven integration of sex and gender into all elements of health education. A multisectoral group of thought leaders has collaborated to advance SGHE since 2012. This cross-sector collaboration to advance SGHE has been successful on several fronts, primarily developing robust interprofessional SGHE programs, hosting a series of international SGHE summits, developing sex- and gender-specific resources, and broadening the collaboration beyond medical education. However, other deeply entrenched challenges have proven more difficult to address, including accurate and consistent sex and gender reporting in research publications, broadening institutional support for SGHE, and the development and implementation of evaluation plans for assessing learner outcomes and the downstream effects of SGHE on patient care. This commentary reflects on progress made in SGHE over the first decade of the current collaboration (2012-2022), articulates a vision for next steps to advance SGHE, and proposes 4 benchmarks to guide the next decade of SGHE: (1) integrate sex, gender, and intersectionality across health curricula; (2) develop sex- and gender-specific resources for health professionals; (3) improve sex and gender reporting in research publications; and (4) develop evaluation plans to assess learner and patient outcomes.

Sex and Gender Health Educational Tenets: A Report from the 2020 Sex and Gender Health Education Summit.

Background: Sex as a biological variable and gender as a sociocultural variable influence many health conditions and outcomes. However, they have not been incorporated systematically into education across health professions. Methods: Areas of knowledge and abilities that apply to sex and gender education across health professions were summarized from the 2015 and 2018 Sex and Gender Health Education Summits. Results: Using this summary, draft tenets were developed by facilitated interprofessional discussion groups at the 2020 Summit, and then reviewed, edited, and refined by a writing group who recommended four tenets that health care professionals should be able to do: (1) demonstrate knowledge of sex and gender specific health (SGSH), (2) evaluate literature and the conduct of research for incorporation of sex and gender, (3) incorporate sex and gender considerations into clinical decision making, and (4) demonstrate patient advocacy with respect to sex and gender. Conclusion: These tenets provide the framework for collaborative interprofessional education about SGSH. Individual professions can also use the tenets to develop practice-specific competencies, competency statements, and/or assessment benchmarks within the structures of their respective accrediting bodies to advance the health of women, men, and sex and gender minority persons. Interprofessional collaborations are key for sharing best practices in development, curricular integration, and dissemination.

Inequity and Women Physicians: Time to Change Millennia of Societal Beliefs.

Gender inequities date back thousands of years, with women expected to be caregivers at home and men expected to be leaders with occupations outside the home. In more recent history, women have trained in various professions, including medicine. Although the number of female physicians has risen consistently over the past several decades and half of US medical students now are women, gender inequities persist and are due, at least in part, to implicit (unconscious) biases held by doctors, other health care professionals, and patients and their families. Implicit biases negatively affect women in their medical careers and contribute to slower advancement, less favorable evaluations, underrepresentation in leadership positions, fewer invited lectures, lower salaries, impostor syndrome, and burnout. Despite efforts to address gender biases, studies in academic medical centers indicate no major change over a 20-year span. Management of implicit gender bias at the organizational level is imperative. Strategies include implicit bias training for doctors and other staff; development of a transparent and equitable compensation plan; and transparent processes for promotion and hiring, mentorship, and sponsorship of women physicians for grand rounds, lectureships, committees, leadership positions, and awards. Achievement of equity for women physicians requires effort and ultimately a culture change. Gender equity in the medical profession will lead to improved physician wellness, retention of women physicians, and improved access to and quality of health care.

Celebrating Women in Medicine.

In collaboration with the American Medical Women's Association, The Permanente Journal is pleased to present this special issue in celebration of Women in Medicine Month in September 2020. This designation was created by the American Medical Association to recognize the growing number of women in the profession. We aim to introduce the history, education, leadership, society beliefs and inequities faced, reflections on bias, and perspectives on work-life-balance. We hope you will allow the personal stories, commentaries, and research reports to inspire you to create workplaces and life moments with a view toward equity and inclusion.

Women Physicians and the Suffrage Movement.

Women physicians have a long history of advocacy, dating to the 19th century women's suffrage movement. As history recounts the work of the suffragists, many women physicians bear mention. Some were leaders on the national scene, and others led suffrage efforts in their own state. In this article, we provide a snapshot of 7 prominent suffragists who were also physicians: Mary Edwards Walker, Mary Putnam Jacobi, Esther Pohl Lovejoy, Marie Equi, Mattie E. Coleman, Cora Smith Eaton, and Caroline E. Spencer. In sharing their stories, we hope to better understand some of the challenges and struggles of the suffrage movement and how their advocacy paved the way not only for women's voting rights but also the role of women physicians as advocates for change.

Workshop summaries from the 2015 Sex and Gender Medical Education Summit: utilization of sex and gender based medical education resources and creating student competencies.

BACKGROUND: Despite overwhelming evidence that sex and gender are critical factors in the delivery and practice of medicine, there is no unified sex- and gender-based medicine (SGBM) undergraduate medical education curriculum. Two Workshops within the 2015 Sex and Gender Medical Education Summit: a Roadmap to Curricular Innovation sought to lay the framework for such a curriculum. METHODS: Attendees to the Sex and Gender Educational Summit self-selected attendance for one of two Workshops: (A) Utilization of SGBM Resources in U.S. Medical Schools or (B) Creating SGBM Student Competencies. RESULTS: Workshop A identified gaps in existing curricula as well as strategies for incorporating available SGBM content into existing educational activities or curricular threads. Focus was given to the use of advisory committees to nurture collaboration and sharing of resources. Workshop B created a framework for national SGBM competencies by adapting existing materials from women's health curricula such as Brown University's SGBM Emergency Medicine subspecialty. The importance of student engagement, assessment, and faculty development were stressed as well as engaging the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) in awareness of the vital nature of including SGBM content into all medical school curricula. CONCLUSION: These Workshops provided a forum for national and international institutional representatives to lay a foundation for integration of SGBM into medical school curricula and the development of national SGBM Student Competencies.