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LGBT-Specific Education in General Psychiatry Residency Programs: a Survey of Program Directors

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Abstract

Objective

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and other sexual minority individuals are at higher risk than non-LGBT individuals for multiple psychiatric conditions and suicide. However, little is known regarding LGBT-specific training among psychiatric residents. The authors sought to characterize LGBT-specific training among adult psychiatry residency programs.

Methods

An anonymous, cross-sectional survey was electronically distributed to U.S.-based adult psychiatry program directors between February and April 2018. Survey topics included program demographics, characteristics of LGBT-specific training, perceived barriers to implementation, and anticipated needs.

Results

Seventy-two program directors (30.8%) provided complete survey responses. Over half (55.6%) of these programs had ≤ 5 h of LGBT-specific training (“lower-hour programs”). Lower- and higher-hour (> 5 h of LGBT-specific education) programs were similar on measured demographic variables, but lower-hour programs covered fewer LGBT-specific topics and program directors were more likely to report lack of interested or topic-expert faculty as a barrier to enhancing LGBT-specific training.

Conclusions

Results of this survey suggest a need for the development and implementation of LGBT-specific educational curricula for use in U.S.-based adult psychiatry programs. In addition, future research may explore effective ways for programs to recruit, retain, and support teaching faculty with LGBT-specific expertise.

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Funding Sources

This work was funded in part by an educational grant to Dr. Hirschtritt from the National Institute of Mental Health (grant no. 5-R25MH060482-17).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Matthew E. Hirschtritt & Ellen Haller

  2. Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Gaddy Noy

  3. Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Marshall Forstein

Authors
  1. Matthew E. Hirschtritt
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  2. Gaddy Noy
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  3. Ellen Haller
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  4. Marshall Forstein
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthew E. Hirschtritt.

Ethics declarations

The survey on which this study was based was reviewed and declared exempt from human-subjects review by the Cambridge Health Alliance’s Institutional Review Board.

Disclosure

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there are no conflicts of interest.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the U.S. government.

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Hirschtritt, M.E., Noy, G., Haller, E. et al. LGBT-Specific Education in General Psychiatry Residency Programs: a Survey of Program Directors. Acad Psychiatry 43, 41–45 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-018-1008-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-018-1008-1

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