Gaps in transgender medical education among healthcare providers: A major barrier to care for transgender persons

Abstract

A lack of access to knowledgeable providers is the greatest reported barrier to care for transgender individuals. The purpose of this manuscript is to review the recent literature characterizing transgender medicine education for medical providers and to summarize effective interventions for improving education in transgender care. The PubMed database was searched for all literature that assessed transgender medical education among physicians or trainees and all papers that reported results of transgender-specific educational interventions. Literature that only evaluated general lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) educational interventions was excluded. The lack of education in transgender care continues among providers across all levels of medical education from medical students and physician trainees to primary care providers, endocrinologists and other specialists involved in transgender care. Several interventions have been shown to effectively improve transgender knowledge and cultural competency. Education among healthcare providers is deficient and is considered a major barrier to care for transgender individuals. Effective interventions should be applied to fundamental medical education. Additional focused education also should be taught with specialty-appropriate content to produce needed proficiency among providers of transgender care.