Virginia Via Research Day Book 2026

Medical Student Research Education and Simulation

06 ASSESSING THE EFFICACY OF A CASE-BASED WORKSHOP FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS IN IMPROVING PATIENT CARE SKILLS FOR LGBTQIA+ ADOLESCENTS

Siddhant Pathak, MPH, OMS-II; Harsha Bhagtani, MD; Natalia Jaimes, MD, MSC Corresponding author: spathak@vcom.edu

VCOM-Virginia, Blacksburg, Virginia

surveys to assess competencies for LGBTQIA+ patient care that were adapted from LGBT-DOCSS (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Development of Clinical Skills) and QUIRKS (QUeering Individual Relational and Knowledge) scales. These competencies included: adolescent history taking, mental health assessment, utilizing inclusive language, applying principles of confidentiality, understanding LGBTQIA+ specific sexual health needs, and understanding concepts of sexuality and gender identity. Results: The analysis of 48 pre-survey and 37 post-survey responses using the Mann-Whitney U Test showed statistically significant improvements across all assessed competencies (p<0.001). These findings show that student attendees exhibited greater confidence in applying knowledge and skills specific to LGBTQIA+ adolescent patient care after participating in the workshop compared to before. Due to the elective nature of this event, as well as the format of the surveys presented, responses were limited and unable to be paired for individual users. Having a higher attendance and paired pre-and-post surveys between individual attendees would have strengthened the dataset by allowing for comparison of individual attendees' improvements from their baseline and adding more data points.

Context: Despite the growing population of LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual+) adolescents, research has shown that healthcare providers generally lack the necessary knowledge to effectively communicate with and assess this population, leading to a reported lack of satisfaction among patients. However, cultural competency training for medical students has shown potential in improving clinical preparedness for addressing the unique sexual and mental health needs of queer adolescent patients. Objective: The goal of this quality improvement project is to assess the efficacy of a case-based workshop to improve cultural competency and clinical preparedness for osteopathic medical students when assessing LGBTQIA+ adolescent patients. Methods: For this workshop, students were first given a physician-led presentation on the mental health outcomes in LGBTQIA+ adolescents and the SSHADESS (Strengths, School, Home, Activities, Drugs, Emotions, Sexuality, Safety) assessment. Next, student attendees were divided into small groups to practice history-taking skills using this assessment as a framework with student or physician facilitators acting as sample patients, with standardized cases. Before and after the workshop, attendees were administered

Conclusions: However, the significant improvement in all observed competencies suggests that this educational format can yield similarly promising results in larger groups of medical students. These findings may also elucidate a limitation of didactic medical education when it comes to patient care for vulnerable populations like LGBTQIA+ adolescents, a gap that can be addressed through case based educational workshops like the one described in this project. IRB Statement: This project was approved by the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Institutional Review Board with protocol number 2025 065.

Table of Contents

162 Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM)