Transgender-inclusive DO schools?

[innercellmass]

Hi all. I'm a trans man and a non-trad premed, interested in DO (and hoping to benefit from AACOMAS's grade replacement policy). That said, as an openly trans person I'm wondering if there are any DO schools specifically known to be trans-inclusive, or at least LGBT friendly! I have a decent list of relatively LGB and trans-inclusive MD schools, but am having a much harder time finding good options on the DO side.

Any DO schools to suggest?

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[Camaxtli]

Hi all. I'm a trans man and a non-trad premed, interested in DO (and hoping to benefit from AACOMAS's grade replacement policy). That said, as an openly trans person I'm wondering if there are any DO schools specifically known to be trans-inclusive, or at least LGBT friendly! I have a decent list of relatively LGB and trans-inclusive MD schools, but am having a much harder time finding good options on the DO side.

Any DO schools to suggest?

PCOM is. I think we have some gender neutral bathrooms, safe zones etc.


I don't know any trans people here but no one would care is my impression.

 

[Jordan95]

Do you even have to mention it? I mean, if I was trans and wanted to get into medical school, I would probably just hide it for the interview, and go about my life.


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[innercellmass]

Do you even have to mention it? I mean, if I was trans and wanted to get into medical school, I would probably just hide it for the interview, and go about my life.


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Well, for one thing I'd be gambling on them not noticing the really obvious name change in my files. And if I got in I'd have to come up with some weird excuses during OMM and hope that no one ever looked me up online. Not to mention leave off a bunch of leadership experience on my applications... Etc. etc. etc. Even without all that, I want to have the option of not having to worry about concealing my history while I'm in school, so it's a relevant factor.

 

[Ioannes Paulus]

RVU has a gender neutral bathroom on every floor

 

[Goro]

Mine is!

Throw in any in or around big cities. Avoid LUCOM like death itself.

If you live in GA, avoid MCG.

Hi all. I'm a trans man and a non-trad premed, interested in DO (and hoping to benefit from AACOMAS's grade replacement policy). That said, as an openly trans person I'm wondering if there are any DO schools specifically known to be trans-inclusive, or at least LGBT friendly! I have a decent list of relatively LGB and trans-inclusive MD schools, but am having a much harder time finding good options on the DO side.

Any DO schools to suggest?

 

[Brinkley]

Well, for one thing I'd be gambling on them not noticing the really obvious name change in my files. And if I got in I'd have to come up with some weird excuses during OMM and hope that no one ever looked me up online. Not to mention leave off a bunch of leadership experience on my applications... Etc. etc. etc. Even without all that, I want to have the option of not having to worry about concealing my history while I'm in school, so it's a relevant factor.

If you apply to PCOM, I would mention it. We have gender-neutral bathrooms and very private changing areas for OMM (although to my knowledge, they are still gender-specific), and single-stall bathrooms near the anatomy lab (which may or may not be gender specific, I can't remember), but everyone changes in the hallway anyway. We also have had multiple speakers talk about people who are LGBT and it was part of our diversity series at least one year. I suspect, at the risk of sounding insensitive, that it would help your application in the same way that under-represented minorities get an "advantage". There's one professor and several students in my class who were openly gay. No one was weird about it/cared. Philadelphia itself appears to be LGBT-friendly, at least, to me as a cis/straight person. I have two friends who are trans, not in medical school though, and they like Philadelphia.

 

[cliquesh]

If you ap to PCOM, I would mention it. We have gender-neutral bathrooms and very private changing areas for OMM (although to my knowledge, they are still gender-specific), and single-stall bathrooms near the anatomy lab (which may or may not be gender specific, I can't remember), but everyone changes in the hallway anyway. We also have had multiple speakers talk about people who are LGBT and it was part of our diversity series at least one year. I suspect, at the risk of sounding insensitive, that it would help your application in the same way that under-represented minorities get an "advantage". There's one professor and several students in my class who were openly gay. No one was weird about it/cared. Philadelphia itself appears to be LGBT-friendly, at least, to me as a cis/straight person. I have two friends who are trans, not in medical school though, and they like Philadelphia.

I think there is a transgender plastic surgeon from pcom.

 

[innercellmass]

If you apply to PCOM, I would mention it. We have gender-neutral bathrooms and very private changing areas for OMM (although to my knowledge, they are still gender-specific), and single-stall bathrooms near the anatomy lab (which may or may not be gender specific, I can't remember), but everyone changes in the hallway anyway. We also have had multiple speakers talk about people who are LGBT and it was part of our diversity series at least one year. I suspect, at the risk of sounding insensitive, that it would help your application in the same way that under-represented minorities get an "advantage". There's one professor and several students in my class who were openly gay. No one was weird about it/cared. Philadelphia itself appears to be LGBT-friendly, at least, to me as a cis/straight person. I have two friends who are trans, not in medical school though, and they like Philadelphia.

Thanks a ton for this info, that's really helpful. I'm planning on mentioning it if/when it's relevant, since I've got a bunch of accomplishments connected to trans advocacy that seem worth highlighting, and (as you can probably guess) it's shaped my overall story a bit as well as my approach to wanting to become a doctor. PCOM was already on my radar totally separately from being trans, but it definitely just shot to the top of my list.

 

[innercellmass]

I think there is a transgender plastic surgeon from pcom.

You're totally right--actually, it looks like both Christine McGinn (who is trans herself) and Kathy Rumer (who isn't trans, but specializes in trans surgical procedures) went to PCOM. That's awesome, I hadn't realized.

 

[innercellmass]

Mine is!

Throw in any in or around big cities. Avoid LUCOM like death itself.

If you live in GA, avoid MCG.

I'll just have to be sure to apply to everywhere west of St. Louis, then

Yeah, I don't think LUCOM would want me there any more than I would want to be there, which is to say I would probably only apply if they were the last medical school on earth.

 

[Jordan95]

Best of luck to you my friend. Who knows, maybe you'll be the first transgender physician?

 

[ATPsynthase123]

Hi all. I'm a trans man and a non-trad premed, interested in DO (and hoping to benefit from AACOMAS's grade replacement policy). That said, as an openly trans person I'm wondering if there are any DO schools specifically known to be trans-inclusive, or at least LGBT friendly! I have a decent list of relatively LGB and trans-inclusive MD schools, but am having a much harder time finding good options on the DO side.

Any DO schools to suggest?

Not LUCOM


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[DO2015CA]

Lmu-dcom had a male->female trans person a few years ago. Honestly it's medical school I think any and all schools (outside lucom) will not give you any trouble, it's the community outside of the school that you will have to deal with. If you can deal with that then I'd apply anywhere, but if you want community approval I would stick to larger cities. (Fwiw you'll really never see these people in the community anyways lol. The library is your life. They like to view you as a part of the community but you aren't. You're in your medschool bubble who ventures into the community to shop)

 

[innercellmass]

Best of luck to you my friend. Who knows, maybe you'll be the first transgender physician?

Thanks! The ship sailed on that first at least a century ago, but I'm hoping to follow in those footsteps.

 

[innercellmass]

Lmu-dcom had a male->female trans person a few years ago. Honestly it's medical school I think any and all schools (outside lucom) will not give you any trouble, it's the community outside of the school that you will have to deal with. If you can deal with that then I'd apply anywhere, but if you want community approval I would stick to larger cities. (Fwiw you'll really never see these people in the community anyways lol. The library is your life. They like to view you as a part of the community but you aren't. You're in your medschool bubble who ventures into the community to shop)

Good to know re: LMU-DCOM. Yeah, I'd really like to think all med schools (minus the infamous LUCOM) would be good with this, but my guess is that's not going to be the case. The healthcare system as a whole has a lot of issues with LGBT friendliness, and medical education unfortunately isn't an exception to that across the board. I'm not expecting to necessarily have much interaction with the community at large... but I do need to be somewhere where I can at least find a decent primary care doctor myself, for instance. Hopefully that won't limit the list too much.

 

[DO2015CA]

Good to know re: LMU-DCOM. Yeah, I'd really like to think all med schools (minus the infamous LUCOM) would be good with this, but my guess is that's not going to be the case. The healthcare system as a whole has a lot of issues with LGBT friendliness, and medical education unfortunately isn't an exception to that across the board. I'm not expecting to necessarily have much interaction with the community at large... but I do need to be somewhere where I can at least find a decent primary care doctor myself, for instance. Hopefully that won't limit the list too much.

i would limit myself to large cities tbh. Not because of acceptance by your colleagues but because pcp is a concern for you. I have heard on the LGBT forum on SDN (new I believe) about trans students having a hard time finding a pcp that will take them. From their experiences that Ive read, many don't feel comfortable and want the student to see endo. Idk if this is personal beliefs based, liability based, or if they don't trust their skills to provide quality care when hormones are involved. Larger cities will have more access to doctors and you're more likely to find someone that will take you on.