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In the session at the 2024 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting, presenters highlighted the importance of fostering inclusion for LGBTQ students.
LGBTQ individuals are increasingly open and entering new spaces, Kayla R. Joyner, PharmD, BCPS, associate professor and vice chair of pharmacy practice at Shenandoah University in Virginia, said in a session at the 2024 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting. She added that, out of all the generations, Generation Z identifies as LGBTQ more than past generations, with approximately 1 in 5 being a member of the LGBTQ community.
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In the session, Joyner and Zara Risoldi Cochrane, PharmD, MS, FASCP, associate dean of student affairs and student success and associate professor at Shenandoah University, discussed the importance of fostering inclusion for the LGBTQ community, not only for patients, but students as well.
“Gen Z identifies here as the generation born between 1997 and 2012 [and] has ... 22% of individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+,” Joyner said. “About 20% of LGBTQIA+ [patients] don't feel comfortable getting care due to discrimination or disrespect from doctors or other health care professionals. This is really notable because this is what we're sending our students to do.”
In addition, Joyner added that 50% of LGBTQ workers reported some form of workplace discrimination or harassment within the past year, and 78% reported at least 1 action to avoid experiencing discrimination. There were approximately 1947 recorded incidents related to an alleged victim’s sexual orientation or identity reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2022, according to Joyner. Further, she added that 510 pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation were introduced in 2023, with the number for 2024 already surpassing this at 527.
Furthermore, LGBTQ health professional learners are 1.62 times more likely to be threatened with physical harm, are 2.08 times as likely to experience unwanted sexual advances, are 2.11 times more likely to experience anxiety and depression, and are 3.01 times more likely to experience suicidal ideation.
Joyner identified ways to make education more inclusive for students, including entering student profiles with the correct documents and forms, using evaluations with gender neutral pronouns, and having preceptors on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committees. Furthermore, she added that having non-discriminatory practices, inclusive dress codes, and site identifiers for rotation selection could help to make students feel more comfortable and accepted in their practice.
“Institutes of higher learning, including colleges and schools of pharmacy, are thought of as places of progress lately, where inclusion [and] diversity [are] embraced. However, rotations or organizations are used to reflect the real world, and that may not always be [inclusive],” Joyner said.
Data are still limited regarding the prevalence of LGBTQ students enrolled in pharmacy schools. As Cochrane noted, pharmacy school applications ask about gender orientation but only include male, female, and other. The PharmCAS Application identifies both gender identity and pronouns, and the Association of American Medical Colleges Institutional Survey identifies gender identify, pronouns, and sexual orientation. By expanding options for gender identifiers and information about gender and sexual orientation, educators can better understand the needs of students and work to help them. She added that the questions do not have to be complicated, saying asking an optional “Are you a member of the LGBTQ community?” is sufficient enough.
“Everybody has a different definition of what professionalism is and that is something that is subjective in our framing of students on clinical rotations,” Joyner said. “Workplaces provide protections to people within the workplace, and sometimes . . . The protections that are at the universities may not exist on the clinical side.”
Reference
Joyner KR, Cochrane ZR. Queering clinical rotations: inclusive practices for LGBTQIA+ students in experiential learning. Presented at: 2024 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting; July 20-July 23, 2024; Boston, MA.
