Topics to include in a women’s health elective suggested by the students included:

Abortive options, access issues, aging women's issues - medical & psychological as well as social, auto-immune disorders, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, defining gender & culture, depression, disease presentation, disease prevention, diseases specific to women, estrogen replacement therapy, ethics gender specific physiological responses, gender-specific diseases, lab values, life cycle of woman, lung disease, minority / low-income women's health , physical exams, pregnancy- post-pregnancy-loss of a child, menopause - hormone replacement, neurological, and psychological, differences in disease presentation, nutrition, PMS, psychosomatic illness(es), osteoporosis participation of women in medical studies preventative medicine, psychological issues, psychologic effects of menopause-cardiovascular disease-HRT-cancer, sexism in medicine, sexual assault, sexuality, stress and women's health, treatment differences, variation in pain perception/treatment response in women vs. men, women & HIV, women's psychology.

Changes in women's health awareness with differences in socioeconomic status; differences in responses to drugs; how to deal w/ women patients; how symptoms & treatment differ; issues they face getting healthcare & how they are treated major differences in common diagnoses (pulmonary disease, psychiatric conditions); what women expect from their health care providers; teaching women to care for themselves (I.E. breast exams) ; women in medicine and stresses they encounter; perhaps something like the year 2 family medicine electives; 4th year rotation in Women's Health Center or Planned Parenthood

Comments included:

• Although we have not addressed a lot of gender-specific differences, I have never felt like I've been treated differently due to my sex, which is in contrast to what I have heard from some 3rd & 4th year med students rotating though various departments (---).
• What about men's issues? We spent about 10 minutes on male-specific disorders
• I liked the gender-specific lunch time presentation given by Dr. --- and a few other professors. This would be nice to incorporate into the normal schedule.
• There is not enough exposure to women's health regarding female-female relationships. Everything is presented in a heterosexual model.
• I think college is aware, but doesn't address them.
• ---: did a very, very poor job w/rape. Address rape as more of a woman's crime and also let people know how much a woman's conscious thoughts & decisions differ from that of a man b/c of rape and assault issues.
• I think that UCCOM definitely spends an adequate amount of time on gender-specific biology & women's health issues, but I am more interested in learning about more specifics between men & women
• Certain courses, --- & --- come to mind, continually lack exposure to gender-specific biology
• I would be interested in an ICP lecture on when to elect mastectomies & hysterectomies
• UHP summer internship with UC Ob/Gyn & Bethesda are great opportunities but only 2 students get to do it.
• I believe limiting this survey to 1st & 2nd year students puts a bias on the results. We still have 2 more years where will be exposed to many of the issues at hand.
• I don't think I am aware of any other women's health issues aside from what has been covered or will be covered - perhaps you could inform us of what we are looking - this way we can answer this question the way you would like us to answer it.
• It seems to me that sufficient mention of gender differences are made when appropriate. Particular areas such as endocrine, autoimmune, reproductive and psychiatric issues merit such a mention. Other topics do not. That is to say, gender specific.
• It seems that --- is making strides, but this is usually not helpful in teaching us the actual differences in ---, ---, ---, etc. - each class should incorporate gender differences, rather than ---trying to make up for what the others
• Many women currently take herbal supplements when they feel their physician's care is inadequate. We need to examine the psychology behind why women are more likely to do so than men. A good place would be to add a case to the health belief models
• If I've wanted more info on women's health issues, I've had to seek outside sources myself
• Took a class called -"Nutrition through the Life Cycle" and we spent 12 of 15 weeks discussion pregnancy needs & post partum needs based on scientific & emotional areas.
• It is tough to be gender-specific when so much of the body is not gender specific.
• While gender-specific issues are important, I don't think they need to be overemphasized - we learn enough as it is.
The majority of gender-specific training entails ‘This condition is more/less common in women.’
• More clinical influence year 1&2 health difference between genders,
• I know few females that I can gain knowledge from in my daily life. It would be great to be able to get some knowledge from classes.
• This issue is adequately addressed in the current curriculum.
• Too much emphasis was placed on a "70 kg. Male" in --- lectures, more information on differences between men & women's metabolism of drugs would have been helpful.
• Why not issue a survey about men's health?
• The course director for the --- was unable to answer a student's question concerning the innervation of the female genital tract.. Can't recall a single instance where gender differences were pointed out in ---.
• Courses discuss gender-specific topics when they are relevant. Adding more just to add more is not needed.
• Women and men differences need to be incorporated into the study of all organ systems!
• Lunchtime or lecture panel of doctors talking about handling patients (esp male patients and female docs) making passes at them.
• It seems to be lacking. The obvious subject which has been absolutely ignored is abortion. It's a real shame.
• Professors tend to use the term "homosexuals" as a risk group. The risk is the behavior, and probably excludes the lesbian population.
• Disappointed in --- lectures on female endocrine drugs, pharmacological contraceptives & side effects.
• Please get this elective started. It's already the year 2000!! I am in full support of this survey & the movement toward adding cultural diversity to the medical curriculum.

• Biochemistry
• Brain and behavior I*
• Microscopic anatomy
• ICP I death and dying

• ICP I health care ethics
• ICP I intro to physical exam
• ICP I intro to clinical opportunities

• Brain and behavior II
• Microbiology
• Pharmacology