PC2004: Evaluating the Impact of an Adolescent Sexuality Training Workshop on Medical Student Performance on an Objective Structured Clinical Exam

Background: Addressing the healthcare needs of sexual and gender diverse (SGD) youth is an essential competency for pediatricians that medical school curricula sub-optimally cover. As SGD health training in undergraduate medical education expands, studies are limited on long-term retention and application of knowledge and clinical skills during patient-provider interactions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether an adolescent sexuality workshop impacted medical student performance in addressing health needs of an SGD adolescent during a standardized patient (SP) exam.

Methods: In 2015, our Core Clerkship in Pediatrics introduced a two-hour adolescent sexuality workshop into the curriculum. Using videos, role-play, and group discussion, students learned to affirm adolescents questioning their sexuality and collaborate with school counselors and families to provide affirming and supportive care for SGD youth. In 2019, we added a standardized patient case (an adolescent cisgender male with dysuria and in a new, same-sex relationship) to our required objective structured clinical exam (OSCE) for rising senior medical students. Based on clerkship scheduling, students completed the workshop before (n=43) or after/coincident with (n=22) the SP case. To assess the impact of the workshop on student performance in the case, de-identified SP encounter transcripts were scored using a rubric (Table 1) created and standardized by study team consensus. Transcript scores for each group were compared via t-tests.

Results: Students completing the workshop before the OSCE scored higher than the group completing the workshop after/coincident with the OSCE (mean score 11.0±2.6 points vs. 9.23±2.63 points, p=0.01, Table 2). Additionally, the pre-OSCE group had a significantly higher mean score for addressing psychosocial items (p=0.01), primarily driven by higher scores for uncovering the SP’s new relationship and sexual activity (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Students who completed the adolescent sexuality workshop before the OSCE had higher mean total and psychosocial transcript scores, likely reflecting knowledge and skills obtained from the workshop. These data affirm prior work that medical school curricula on SGD health may prepare students for effective engagement with adolescents exploring their sexuality. Qualitative analysis is underway to understand more nuanced differences between study groups. This adolescent sexuality workshop with subsequent SP assessment may advance medical education on caring for SGD populations and serve as a model to inform educational strategies to address needs of other underserved groups in medicine.