Pride of Place

A CULTURE OF ACCEPTANCE AND AFFIRMATION

Though small in size, the pride pins worn on the lapels of Larner white coats and other clothing over the last 20 years have signaled a long-overdue change in acceptance and celebration of LGBTQA diversity across society, including the medical professions. A generation ago, being open about one’s sexuality or gender, if it differed from heterosexual norms, was unthinkable for many medical professionals.

Today, nearly a fifth of Larner’s most recent entering class of medical students identify as LGBTQA. And the change goes beyond personal identification, to nurturing more inclusive practices throughout the patient care setting, like integrating LGBTQA scenarios in standardized patient instructional cases in UVM’s Clinical Simulation Laboratory, and funding curriculum improvement projects such as the 2022 Frymoyer Scholars effort by faculty members in the Department of Emergency Medicine to build an interdisciplinary gender affirming care model in the emergency department setting.

“Affirming who the person is and encouraging it is part of the delight in the work,” said Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Michael Upton, M.D.’94, who has also worked closely with the College’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Gender and Sexuality Alliance. “As physicians, we have the capacity to translate an appreciation and a caring for the richness of the individual person who has come to see us.”

Members of the Larner community at the 2021 Pride Parade in Burlington, Vt., and (right) pride pins adorn a Larner white coat.