Future doctors to get sex education

By Catherine Wolz

The U.Va. Health System is one of seven medical schools in the nation to receive an educational grant from Pfizer, Inc. to develop and implement an innovative, multidisciplinary curriculum in sexual health medicine.

Winning schools outlined proposed course work during a four-year medical school program that would relate to diagnosing and managing medical and psychological conditions that make patient care particularly complex. The curriculum also must encompass social and ethical dimensions of care.

According to a National Institutes of Health study, education of physicians and other health professionals in aspects of human sexuality is currently inadequate and curriculum development is urgently needed.

Through these grants of $100,000, Pfizer, Inc. hopes to increase awareness and understanding among health professionals and the academic community of the importance of sexual health as a critical component of overall health and wellness.

“Psychosexual development is personally important for all individuals, but is rarely discussed as a public health or medical issue,” said Dr. Anita Clayton, vice chair of the Department of Psychiatric Medicine at U.Va. and one of three leaders of the program. “We hope to address knowledge, attitudes and interpersonal interactions that are important for medical students to appropriately help their patients with this basic health issue.”

Clayton will develop the curriculum with Elizabeth McGarvey, director of the Division of Prevention Research and associate professor of psychiatric medicine, and Dr. Christine M. Peterson, assistant professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and director of gynecology for student health at U.Va.