A new study is raising serious concerns about the experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual medical students in the U.S. According to research published in JAMA Network Open, LGB students are more likely to leave medical school than their non-LGB peers.
The study, led by Mytien Nguyen of the Yale School of Medicine, looked at national data from 2014 to 2017 and found troubling disparities. While 2.4 percent of non-LGB students left school due to dismissal or withdrawal, the rate jumped to 4.2 percent for bisexual students and 3.7 percent for gay and lesbian students.
The researchers analyzed data from the Association of American Medical Colleges and responses to the Matriculating Student Questionnaire. Though gender identity was not included, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and age were. Among students who provided complete demographic data, 6.3 percent identified as LGB. The researchers found that LGB Hispanic students—regardless of gender—faced the highest risk of dropping out.
The authors wrote:
“Although future studies need to examine the cause of these disparities in attrition, LGB students experience discrimination within medical training environments, which may lead to the risk of attrition.”
They also noted that both LGB and Hispanic students
“may encounter less supportive attitudes toward homosexuality, often more prevalent among recent immigrants or first-generation households, and traditional cultural values around notions of masculinity, authority, and gender roles, perpetuating rigid expectations around sexuality and gender expression and alienating Hispanic LGB students.”
Researchers are urging future studies to dig deeper into how intersecting identities affect student retention—and to build stronger support systems in medical education.
