From ‘Women’ to ‘Gender’: the Evolution of the Monash Gender Issues Project Jo Wainer, School of Rural Health, Monash University Australia Gender Competency Training for Medical Educators Seminar, April 2003

Agenda  Why the government had an issue  How they arrived at the idea of funding students and curriculum development  Started with women in rural general practice and moved to gender issues through action research and the input of male students  The need to incorporate new evidence of difference into a new curriculum

The Issue for Government Women now half the graduating doctors Men and women practice medicine differently Women are less likely to become rural doctors and when they do, they require different work structures

Students and curriculum 1995 rural club students asked for teaching about issues for female rural doctors Monash School of Rural Health won tender to develop and pilot the curriculum Now a core objective of RUSC

From Women to Gender First tutorial – pregnant GP tutor, 8 male students aspiring to be orthopaedic surgeons = no fit Second tutorial – male doctor Core curriculum needed to include men and urban focussed students

Medical research Often clinical trials include only men Even when women are included the analysis may not take that into account Concentrates on issues of importance to men Even the basic safety and toxicology studies are carried out on male rats Cells are sexed

Implications for curriculum Need to include new research findings that include the experience of women –Stress: ‘tend and befriend’ as well as ‘fight and flight’ –Anatomy of sexual desire Men have a gender too

Gender in Medicine at Monash Gender Working Party of the 5YCC Input into SPCs Rural tutorials Rural gender case 6 th year student-driven session National leadership in professional development

Website mrh/gendermed

Gender terms Gender blind Gender disaggregated Gender sensitive