Using Standardized Patients to Apply and Assess Culturally-Affirming Care with LGBTQ+ Populations (Level 3)

Session Description: Gender-diverse patients, those whose gender identities and/or expression(s) do not conform to the gender binary, often face marginalization in healthcare due to the lack of familiarity among medical providers with addressing their unique needs. As a result, these patients may receive suboptimal care or even encounter micro- or macroaggressions.

To create a welcoming environment, clinicians should address gender-diverse patients in a respectful and affirming manner. However, they rarely receive formal instruction or simulated training to practice providing gender-affirming care. This represents a critical gap in healthcare education.

In order to provide culturally sensitive care and improve communication, healthcare providers must acknowledge the intersectionality of cultural identities. Cultural competence aims to break down barriers that get in the way of patients receiving the care they need. Treating the whole person requires acknowledging all cultural identities, including gender, race, class, and ethnicity. By affirming and acknowledging the "whole person (patient),” clinicians have an opportunity to connect with patients, provide a genuinely open approach, and foster shared decision-making.

Standardized patient (SP)-based education is a highly effective teaching method that can be used to improve cultural competency and patient care due to it’s highly realistic nature, which compels participants to acknowledge the “whole person”. SPs are trained actors who portray real patients in simulated clinical encounters. This method of experiential learning is integrated into the curricula of almost all medical school training programs in the US. However, the use of SPs significantly wanes post-licensure and is not regularly used by educators in the CME/CE community.

Utilizing standardized patients within the context of an interprofessional teaching activity represents an untapped resource for providing exposure to clinical scenarios that may not be experienced by all learners in existing post-graduate clinical training. It also offers a consistent patient experience that allows for immediate feedback within a supportive environment. This can increase confidence and decrease anxiety, reducing apprehension during future patient encounters

When considering marginalized populations, utilizing standardized patients also provides an experience in which learners can practice their skills without risking further stigmatization of an actual patient.

This session explores how SP-based education deserves a more prominent role within the current armamentarium of educational planners.