Women’s and Gender Health Education (WGH) Program

The WGH Program is a department-wide residency education program, established in 2015 after a needs assessment by Evelyn Hsieh, MD, PhD. It is an interdisciplinary curriculum integrated into all training programs in Internal Medicine. The program seeks to address health disparities in racial, ethnic, gender-diverse minority populations served by our training programs.

We define women’s and gender health as the unique manifestations of conditions in individuals assigned female sex at birth or who self-identify as women or non-binary irrespective of sex assigned at birth.

The WGH Education Program addresses training and societal needs at the intersection of women’s and gender health and health disparities. Our obligation and mission is to provide internal medicine (IM) residents, regardless of career path, with the knowledge and skills needed to improve the care of the most vulnerable patients we serve.

• Provide a unified (WGH) educational experience for Yale IM residents that addresses gaps in training;
• Develop an interdisciplinary WGH curriculum by partnering with other disciplines and members of the community;
• Increase residents’ awareness of disparities in care and engage them in advocacy;
• Highlight and model the central role of general medicine in managing cross disciplinary topics with appropriate use of consultants; and
• Create a learning environment that fosters the development of a cadre of interdisciplinary WGH educators.

The curriculum structured around series of distinct educational modules presented to all residents sequentially over 3-4 years. They are presented in 4-hour, half-day protected educational sessions 8 times per year.

These modules are thematic and use diverse teaching methods such as practicums, debates, panels, videos, interactive slide shows, and small group discussions. Residents are assigned pre work before each module.

Example:

Module 4. From anatomy to identity
8:00 – 9:30AM
The difficult pelvic exam and trauma-focused care

• Tips and tricks for difficult pelvic exam
• Trauma informed exam and care
• Common abnormal cervical findings

Methods: pelvic models, video, small group discussion, interactive slide show
Teachers: general internal medicine faculty
9:45 – 10:30AM
Urinary incontinence

• Definition, anatomy, physiology, risk factors
• Initial work up
• Medical and surgical management
• When to refer to specialist

Methods: interactive cases
Teachers: general internal medicine faculty; urogynecology fellows
10:45AM – 12:00PM
Gender diversity and identity

• Glossary of gender diversity
• Gender-affirming communication
• Transgender community perspectives

Methods: resident-led discussion, role-play, panel discussion, Q&A
Teachers: PGY-3 residents; community panelists