Browsing by Author "Patel, Anuj U."

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    Correction: How much is needed? Patient exposure and curricular education on medical students' LGBT cultural competency
    (BMC, 2022-06-07) Nowaskie, Dustin Z.; Patel, Anuj U.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Correction: BMC Med Educ 20, 490 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02381-1
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    How much is needed? Patient exposure and curricular education on medical students’ LGBT cultural competency
    (BMC, 2020-12-04) Nowaskie, Dustin Z.; Patel, Anuj U.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Background: For medical students, providing exposure to and education about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patient population are effective methods to increase comfort, knowledge, and confidence in caring for LGBT people. However, specific recommendations on the number of patient exposures and educational hours that relate to high LGBT cultural competency are lacking. Methods: Medical students (N = 940) at three universities across the United States completed a survey consisting of demographics, experiential variables (i.e., number of LGBT patients and LGBT hours), and the 7-point Likert LGBT-Development of Clinical Skills Scale (LGBT-DOCSS). LGBT-DOCSS scores were stratified by 1-point increments, and experiential variable means were computed per each stratification to characterize the mean LGBT patients and hours of medical students with higher scores and those with lower scores. Results: Medical students reported caring for some LGBT patients annually (M = 6.02, SD = 20.33) and receiving a low number of annual LGBT curricular hours (M = 2.22, SD = 2.85) and moderate number of annual LGBT extracurricular hours (M = 6.93, SD = 24.97). They also reported very high attitudinal awareness (M = 6.54, SD = 0.86), moderate knowledge (M = 5.73, SD = 1.01), and low clinical preparedness (M = 3.82, SD = 1.25). Medical students who cared for 35 or more LGBT patients and received 35 or more LGBT total hours reported significantly higher preparedness and knowledge. Conclusions: Medical students have shortcomings in LGBT cultural competency and limited LGBT patient exposure and education. To improve LGBT cultural competency, medical schools and accrediting bodies should consider providing medical students with at least a total of 35 LGBT patient contacts and 35 LGBT education hours (10 h of required curricular education and 25 h of supplemental education).
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    LGBT cultural competency, patient exposure, and curricular education among student pharmacists
    (Elsevier, 2021) Nowaskie, Dustin Z.; Patel, Anuj U.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Background Pharmacists are positioned in unique and important roles in health care in their ability to care for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population. For example, pharmacists are a highly prevalent, accessible provider type, and informal surveys have shown that LGBT patients may be more comfortable asking their pharmacists sensitive medication questions rather than their primary provider. Objectives To demonstrate gaps in LGBT cultural competency among student pharmacists and propose specific recommendations on the number of LGBT patient exposures and educational hours that can significantly improve LGBT cultural competency. Methods Student pharmacists (N = 275) at 3 universities in the United States completed a survey comprising demographics, experiential variables (i.e., number of LGBT patients and LGBT hours), and the 7-point Likert LGBT-Development of Clinical Skills Scale (LGBT-DOCSS). LGBT-DOCSS scores were stratified by 1-point increments, and experiential variable means were computed per each stratification to characterize the mean LGBT patients and hours of student pharmacists with higher scores and those with lower scores. Results Student pharmacists reported low numbers of annual LGBT patients (Mean = 3.82, SD = 9.54), annual LGBT curricular hours (Mean = 0.55, SD = 0.95), and annual LGBT extracurricular hours (Mean = 2.50, SD = 15.42). They reported very high attitudinal awareness (Mean = 6.19, SD = 1.02), moderate knowledge (Mean = 5.00, SD = 1.25), and low clinical preparedness (Mean = 3.26, SD = 1.33). Student pharmacists who cared for 25 or more LGBT patients and received 10 or more LGBT total hours reported significantly higher preparedness, knowledge, and overall cultural competency. Conclusion Student pharmacists have shortcomings in LGBT cultural competency and limited LGBT patient exposure and education. To improve LGBT cultural competency, pharmacy schools and accrediting bodies should consider ensuring that student pharmacists receive at least a total of 25 LGBT patient contacts and 10 LGBT formal education hours across their pharmacy education.
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    A multicenter, multidisciplinary evaluation of 1701 healthcare professional students’ LGBT cultural competency: Comparisons between dental, medical, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, and social work students
    (Public Library of Science, 2020-08-13) Nowaskie, Dustin Z.; Patel, Anuj U.; Fang, Ryan C.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Background Efforts to characterize healthcare professional students’ lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) cultural competency are necessary to recommend educational initiatives. Very few studies have evaluated LGBT cultural competency across multiple healthcare disciplines, and no known studies have included students of other healthcare disciplines such as occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, and physician assistant. Methods Healthcare professional students (N = 1701) at three universities across the United States completed a survey consisting of demographics, experiential variables (i.e., LGBT patients and LGBT curricular hours), and the 7-point Likert LGBT-Development of Clinical Skills Scale (LGBT-DOCSS). LGBT-DOCSS scores, annual LGBT patients, and annual LGBT curricular hours were compared across healthcare disciplines. Results While students reported very high Attitudinal Awareness (M = 6.48, SD = 0.92), they endorsed moderate Basic Knowledge (M = 5.54, SD = 1.16) and low Clinical Preparedness (M = 3.78, SD = 1.28). After controlling for several demographic and experiential variables, there were significant differences among healthcare disciplines on LGBT-DOCSS scores, with social work students reporting the highest on all scores, and dental students reporting the lowest on all scores except Clinical Preparedness. There were also significant differences among healthcare disciplines on annual LGBT patients [mean range: 0.57 (dental) to 7.59 (physician assistant)] and annual LGBT curricular hours [mean range: 0.51 (occupational therapy) to 5.64 (social work)]. Experiential variables were significant predictors for Overall LGBT-DOCSS, Clinical Preparedness, and Basic Knowledge (all p < 0.001); LGBT patients was also a significant predictor for Attitudinal Awareness (p < 0.05). Conclusions Taken together, significant differences in LGBT cultural competency exist across healthcare disciplines, which may result from inadequate experiences with LGBT patients and LGBT curricular education. Future efforts should consider increasing LGBT patient contact hours and LGBT formal education hours to enhance healthcare students’ LGBT cultural competency.