Blended learning to teach gender in medical school

Background: Teaching gender and sexuality in medical school is critical to prepare students for future clinical practice. Yet curriculum gaps exist in teaching these topics in medical schools. To address this, medical schools are integrating gendered perspectives into their curricula. Context: Acknowledging the need to teach gender and sexuality, Western Sydney University School of Medicine introduced a lecture on "Gendered Perspectives on Health' in 2015. However, the delivery of the content took more time than anticipated, as some students lacked a basic understanding of gender and sexuality. Engagement with the didactic teaching method was low. Innovation: Using blended learning techniques, a flipped classroom workshop on gender and sexuality was developed in 2016. The workshop had online components that gave basic information on gender and sexuality, which students viewed prior to the face-to-face session. Students then discussed specific gender-related topics with expert facilitators using a timed multi-station approach during the face-to-face session. A plenary session provided students with the opportunity to address any remaining questions. Evaluation suggests that the workshop increased the students' self-reported knowledge on gender and sexual health topics and services. Students also found the workshop useful and engaging. Implications: The workshop provided an engaging and informative way for students to discuss gender and sexuality. The workshop also created a safe learning environment for students to clarify their perceptions of gender and sexuality. Increasing students' knowledge and understanding of gender and sexuality promoted a gender-sensitive approach to patient care, which can help students to avoid stereotyping and to provide comprehensive care to gender-diverse groups.