Workshop summaries from the 2015 Sex and Gender Medical Education Summit: utilization of sex and gender based medical education resources and creating student competencies

BACKGROUND: Despite overwhelming evidence that sex and gender are critical factors in the delivery and practice of medicine, there is no unified sex- and gender-based medicine (SGBM) undergraduate medical education curriculum. Two Workshops within the 2015 Sex and Gender Medical Education Summit: a Roadmap to Curricular Innovation sought to lay the framework for such a curriculum. METHODS: Attendees to the Sex and Gender Educational Summit self-selected attendance for one of two Workshops: (A) Utilization of SGBM Resources in U.S. Medical Schools or (B) Creating SGBM Student Competencies. RESULTS: Workshop A identified gaps in existing curricula as well as strategies for incorporating available SGBM content into existing educational activities or curricular threads. Focus was given to the use of advisory committees to nurture collaboration and sharing of resources. Workshop B created a framework for national SGBM competencies by adapting existing materials from women’s health curricula such as Brown University’s SGBM Emergency Medicine subspecialty. The importance of student engagement, assessment, and faculty development were stressed as well as engaging the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) in awareness of the vital nature of including SGBM content into all medical school curricula. CONCLUSION: These Workshops provided a forum for national and international institutional representatives to lay a foundation for integration of SGBM into medical school curricula and the development of national SGBM Student Competencies. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13293-016-0092-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.