Masina Wright, DO '19
in her first year
Were there any moments during the process that affirmed for you that creating the elective was necessary or that it was meant to happen?
Several of the students in the course have no curriculum at all on transgender health in their medical education, and stumbled on the course for pure interest alone, although they had no baseline interest. Watching their academic and medical knowledge blossoming was particularly rewarding.
Can you tell me about the Transgender Health Medical Student Elective itself?
This is an 11-week webinar based program that outlines the past, present and future of transgender care from the perspective of multiple specialties, including pediatrics, OBGYN, endocrinology, psychiatry, surgery and primary care. Each session was led by a WPATH Global Education Initiative approved trainer who is an expert in their field. We tried to have as many transgender or nonbinary leaders as possible teach as first-hand experience is the most powerful message in medicine. Attendance was mandatory for certification, and the "homework" consisted of narrative medicine style journal entries for reflection. I also included a transphobia scale at the beginning and end of the course for objective measurement. Again, each session was mapped to the AAMC LGBT medical education competencies.
How did it feel to know other UNE COM students were taking the course?
Exciting and rewarding to have direct peers involved. Of course I felt supported by my UNE COM community that students supported this new initiative.
What do you want students to learn by taking the elective?
The most important thing to me is to have physicians to be examining their own biases as it relates to patient care, in order to be better physicians. The second thing is normalizing the gender spectrum that we will all see in patient care; it is my hope the medical students who take this course are able to see beyond gender in their patients and provide compassionate and respectful care to any human because they can see beyond identity markers to treat the person and their suffering, whatever its cause.
You also mentioned that, “transgender health is best taught by those who have a firsthand experience in the medicine.” Can you elaborate on why this is important?
This is true for any minority, not just gender based medicine. Individuals who have lived through - race/class/gender/sexual/political/religious - discrimination are better able to speak to that subset than those who have not experienced this thing. This is not to say all the other experts don't also have great value in medicine and academics! A first hand narrative is a powerful place to come from, is all I am suggesting. Also, one transgender person cannot speak for all people who are transgendered. However, a trans physician/NP/PA/RN may have personal experience that enriches their knowledge in a way that academic research alone cannot substitute.
How will you continue to be an advocate for transgender health after you graduate, and as a practicing physician?
Transgender health is one of my passions and I am committed to continuing to attend WPATH and USPATH conferences for academic and social community as well as other academic gatherings around the globe. I will likely always be a prescriber of transition and maintenance hormones for those who want/need them, and will continue to advocate for low cost and high quality trans healthcare in any city I live in. I am unsure where my career will ultimately lead me - right now I am looking at Adolescent Medicine as a potential fellowship opportunity, although I may move more towards community medicine and primary care depending on opportunities after residency. Life is an adventure I look forward to!