Diversity in Medical Education

The existing and increasing diversity in our population and thus among patients and students requires that diversity aspects are adequately taken into account in education and training in medicine and health care professions. According to the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG), diversity comprises six categories: age, gender, ethnicity, physical impairment, sexual orientation and religion. However, many other aspects also play a role when it comes to inclusion or discrimination (e.g. socioeconomic status, education, hair colour or body shape, to name just a few). For the quality of medical care, it is important that diversity aspects are taken into account and implemented in the curricula. In addition to curricular integration, diversity aspects should also be taken into account in study programme structures and the study environment, including family-friendly timetables, barrier-free access to classrooms and courses, and diversity sensitive admissions procedures. It is therefore necessary to “fix the content, the institution and the numbers” 1. There are several efforts to integrate diversity aspects, both in Europe and globally. Gender-sensitive curricula have been developed in medical schools in America 2 and Canada 3, as well as in Austria, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries 4, 5, 6, 7. This could be achieved, for example, by means of suitable quality management instruments and approaches such as a “Gender and Diversity Change Agent” 8. There are also increased efforts to integrate cultural competencies. Dogra et al. have developed twelve tips for culturally sensitive medical education 9. In 2014, the Lancet Commission on Culture and Health stressed the importance of integrating cultural competencies into medical education 10. The Committee on Cultural Competencies and Global Health from the German Association for Medical Education (GMA) has also published a position paper on the integration of cultural competencies in medical education 11. In Europe the process of integration has been supported by a position paper of the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) highlighting the importance of integrating sex and gender aspects intomedical education and its impact on the quality of health care http:// www.cpme.eu/cpme-policy-on-sex-and-gender-inmedicine/. Furthermore, the Committee on Gender, Diversity and Career Development in Medical Education and Training of the German Association for Medical Education (GMA) supports the integration of sex/genderand diversity-related learning objectives into the National Competence