(591) Human Sexuality Education in Residency Programs

Abstract Introduction Human sexual dysfunction has been reported to be found between 25% to 45%, depending on the definition used and the population studied. Their frequency is higher than that of the most common diseases for which we spend hundreds of hours in our medical training (chronic hypertension, diabetes, asthma, or cardiovascular diseases). The sexual history can provide the sexually educated clinician with more than 20 additional diagnoses, many of them in need of medical treatment and rarely obtained without that tool. Furthermore, most of the regular and common sexual concerns only need sexual education, and in most of these cases, the professional doesn't feel comfortable providing this kind of service. Most medical schools worldwide and in our nation, along with most residency programs, have been neglecting to provide their trainees with appropriate sexual education (especially in areas such as OB/GYN, Urology, Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and family and primary care). Objective The objectives are to call the attention of leaders, directors, and teachers at medical schools and residency programs to the extreme importance of sexual education in medical training, and to show how external factors opposed to the science, like religions and culture, have historically affected the content of the study of medicine. Finally, the study aims to propose a sexual reeducation program in medical schools and residency programs that can improve the management of these patients. Methods This study utilized a review and analysis of the literature, combined with the evaluation and treatment of hundreds of patients over a 20-year period, where the sexual history was applied to thousands of them. However, it is noted that this clinical practice is not a common situation, as most patients lack the evaluation of their sexual life and run their relationships with undiagnosed conditions that result in a poor quality of life. Results The present stage of sexual education in the medical area is characterized by the lack of physicians able to perform a sexual history. This results in the negative consequence of failing to diagnose multiple frequent, personal, intimate, and couple or family problems in the sociosexual area. Conclusions Medical schools and residency programs should incorporate 60 to 80 hours of sexual education, diagnosis, and treatment across their 3 to 4 years of specialization, especially in areas such as OB/GYN, Urology, and Psychiatry. Sexologists, not regular physicians, should direct and provide such education and training through a Department of Sexual Medicine that could offer it to different specialties. Disclosure No