The American Medical Women’s Association Co-sponsors Landmark Summit on Sex and Gender Health Education
The American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), the TTUHSC Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health, the Mayo Clinic and the University of Utah Health have joined faculty and researchers around the world to host the Sex and Gender Health Education (SGHE) Summit: Advancing Curricula Through a Multiprofessional Lens at the University of Utah Health Sciences April 8-10, 2018.
Building on the work of the 2015 Sex and Gender Medical Education (SGME) Summit, this meeting convenes faculty and students from more than 170 U.S. and international institutions, representing medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, and allied health professions, in addition to representatives from federal agencies and nonprofit organizations.
Overarching goals of the SGHE Summit are to create a network of health professionals and health educators to support and progress curricular integration of scientific evidence supporting sex as a biological variable (SABV) and gender influences on health and disease. Resources provided at the Summit will help facilitate curricular change and enhance interprofessional education.
Research has demonstrated that biological differences between men and women translate into differences in the prevalence, manifestation, and response to treatment of a variety of diseases, including coronary heart disease, autoimmune diseases and obesity. However, curricula on sex and gender differences in health and disease are not uniformly part of health education. A 2010 IOM report, “Women’s Health Research: Progress, Pitfalls, and Promise” noted that “gaps remain, both in research areas and in the application of results to benefit women in general and across multiple population groups.”
This summit will provide attendees with knowledge and resources to: (1) Navigate their organization and facilitate curricular change, (2) Create a step-wise plan for sex and gender integration, (3) Receive valuable assessment guidance from national experts, (4) Access ready-made sex and gender curricular materials, (5) Enhance interprofessional education through a sex and gender approach, and (6) Engage with over 250 health professional faculty and stakeholders.
AMWA leaders have been integral in the support and planning of the Summit. “We are excited to expand our work in sex and gender specific medicine to the wider network of health professionals,” said AMWA Executive Director Dr. Eliza Lo Chin who co-chairs the Summit with Dr. Marjorie Jenkins and Dr. Alyson McGregor. AMWA President Dr. Connie Newman added, “Teaching sex and gender specific medicine will ultimately improve the clinical diagnosis and treatment of disease in women and men.”
Opening the Summit will be a scientific poster session co-chaired by Dr. Jan Werbinski, Executive Director of the Sex and Gender Health Collaborative, an initiative co-founded by AMWA and supported by the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health. Dr. Werbinski remarked, “The outstanding posters and abstracts we received certainly indicate that much progress is being made in sex and gender based concepts by individuals from a wide array of schools and disciplines, in spite of the fact that many schools have yet to formally embrace this field of study.” AMWA Immediate Past President Dr. Suzanne Harrison served on the Summit’s Senior Advisory Committee and Past President Dr. Kim Templeton will be a featured speaker at the Summit. Dr. Mary Rojek, President of the Sex and Gender Health Collaborative, will be serving as Senior Editor of the Summit proceedings.
The Sex and Gender Health Education (SGHE) Summit is supported by the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), TTUHSC Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health, Mayo Clinic, University of Utah Health, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, University of Utah School of Dentistry, National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, Brown University Division of Sex and Gender in Emergency Medicine, Florida State University College of Medicine, HealthyWomen, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and American Dental Education Association.
Event Details:
Sex and Gender Health Education Summit
Advancing Curricula Through a Multidisciplinary Lens
April 8-10, 2018
University of Utah Health Sciences
www.sghesummit2018.com
About AMWA:
The American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) is an organization that functions at the local, national, and international level to advance women in medicine and improve women’s health. Founded in 1915, AMWA is the oldest multi-specialty organization of women in medicine. AMWA’s programs help provide leadership, advocacy, education, mentoring and strategic alliances. As the vision and voice of women in medicine for the past century, AMWA empowers women to lead in improving health for all, within a model that reflects the unique perspective of women.
www.amwa-doc.org
Contact: Eliza Chin, MD, MPH, FACP – AMWA Executive Director
ExecutiveDirector@amwa-doc.org
