Sexual Health and Medicine

Advisor: Abdulmaged M.Traish, PhD, atraish@bu.edu

Student Leaders:

• Christopher Noyes, cnoyes@Bu.edu
• Eric Oh, ericoh@bu.edu
• Hannah Dumas, hdumas@bu.edu
• Apolline Jungels, ajungels@bu.edu

Vision:

• We see an opportunity to supplement and enrich the curriculum of BUSM surrounding diverse topics on sexual health by enlisting the expertise of BUMC faculty and speakers from the greater Boston community.

Mission:

• Our mission is to broaden and expand BUSM students’ knowledge, training, and understanding of the spectrum of sexual practices and their role in overall health. The curriculum of Sexual Health and Medicine will enrich medical students’ understanding of the spectrum of sexual practices and the physiology underlying sexual function and dysfunction.

Goals:

• Through a series of 8 class-based discussions and 2 hands-on workshops, we will provide interested students an opportunity to learn from the experts in the field who will cover a broad range of topics including sexual physiology, reproductive justice, and a thorough discussion of sexual health in vulnerable populations. We will promote the holistic well-being of ourselves and our future patients by developing the knowledge and skills to provide exceptional care without exception, in a compassionate and understanding manner.

Objectives:

• At the end of this course, students will be able to:
  • Employ techniques for taking a relevant, comprehensive sexual history that is inclusive of the spectrum of sexual practices, genders, and sexual orientations.
  • Discuss how to tailor clinical care to common concerns related to sexual function and practices.
  • Better understand the broad fields of sexual medicine and sexual physiology.
  • Understand and apply the principles of trauma-informed care.
  • Consider the intersections of policy, advocacy, and medical practice in regards to autonomy, consent, and reproductive justice.

Methods:

• We aim to help students improve their history taking skills, with a particular emphasis on sensitive topics and on fostering a clinical environment that is inclusive of all genders and sexualities. We also hope to expose students to career paths that incorporate sexual health routinely into their practice. Finally, we would like to create a lasting model for a sexual health curriculum at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. We understand that not all of our subjects may be incorporated into the already limited curriculum; however, we feel that many of these topics are essential to our future medical practices, in which we will be serving LGBTQ+ patients, trauma survivors, and other underserved populations.