Knickerbocker, Kaljo, Hanks co-author study in Wisconsin Medical Journal

Members of the UW Department have recently authored an article published in the Wisconsin Medical Journal. Authors include PGY-3 Resident Abbey Knickerbocker, MD; Nathan R. Jones, PhD, Senior Project Director at the UW Survey Center; Kristina Kaljo, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Ob-Gyn; and Laura Hanks, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn. 

In “Transformative Impact: Advancing Resident Competence and Confidence in Gender-Affirming Care Through a Multimodal Transgender Health Curriculum,” the authors sought to evaluate the impact of a longitudinal multimodal educational intervention on obstetrics and gynecology residents’ knowledge, confidence, and comfort in providing gender-affirming care. An educational transgender and gender-diverse curriculum incorporating didactics, clinical experiences, and surgical exposure was implemented within the obstetrics and gynecology residency program at a single academic medical center over 1 year. The authors found that:

“Residents demonstrated substantial improvements across multiple domains of transgender and gender-diverse care, including understanding of transgender care, confidence in counseling for gender-affirming surgery, comfort with hormone therapy management, and comfort describing hormone effects. Qualitative analysis identified themes of enhanced clinical awareness, shifts in professional identity through transformative learning, and awareness of systemic barriers that may impact provision of care.”

Read the whole article here. 

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya