UMSON students and faculty joined with colleagues from two other institutions to foster discussion surrounding gender-affirming care using virtual reality simulation.
In October, UMSON at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) hosted an interprofessional education (IPE) event during which students from UMSON at USG; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County School of Social Work; and the University of Maryland School of Public Health and Prevention came together to foster discussion surrounding gender-affirming care using virtual reality simulation. The goal of this IPE event was to enhance students' understanding of interprofessional gender-affirming care and improve their perceptions of interdisciplinary care teams caring for gender-diverse youth.
Jana Goodwin, PhD, RN, CNE, assistant professor and chair of UMSON at USG; Pat Schaefer, DNP, RN, CHSE, CNE, director of the Clinical Simulation Lab at USG; Katie Morris, PhD, LCSW-C; and Jennifer Hodgson, EdD, MPH, facilitated small interdisciplinary student groups caring for Oscar (preferred name Ola), a 15-year-old assigned male at birth patient with a history of depression who attempted suicide after disclosing their plans to start gender transitioning to a friend.
Working together, students used shared decision-making by asking the artificial intelligence-driven patient questions, practicing pronoun use, and discussing medical care and resources needed to support the patient. Large group discussion with faculty members from nursing, social work, and public health followed, during which students shared appreciation for learning about each other’s disciplines and the opportunity to discuss gender issues. At the end of the event a nursing student shared, ”Thank you for this opportunity. I'm glad that our school is giving a platform to learn about providing gender-affirming care.”