Wellbeing of gay, lesbian, and bisexual doctorsCommentary: The medical profession should face up to its own homophobia

# Wellbeing of gay, lesbian, and bisexual doctors {#article-title-2} Gay, lesbian, and bisexual doctors have long had a largely covert presence within the medical profession; their visibility is a relatively recent phenomenon. The American Psychiatric Association's landmark decision in 1973 to remove homosexuality from the nomenclature of psychiatric disorders was a major catalyst for this, allowing homosexual and bisexual doctors to take tentative steps into the culture at large. A search of the medical literature yields information on medical attitudes towards homosexual and bisexual patients, but little about homosexual and bisexual doctors themselves. Their challenges and triumphs are likely to be similar to those of other minority groups within the profession, except that they can choose whether to make their minority status known to patients and colleagues. 1 2 Although societal tolerance towards sexual minorities has greatly improved since 1973, “coming out” as a homosexual or bisexual doctor remains a difficult decision, with both personal and professional consequences. Such doctors have to ask themselves several questions in deciding whether to come out: Wellbeing implies personal and professional satisfaction and the ability to effectively integrate the two to form satisfying relationships with patients and colleagues and to attain their respect. In this article we review the literature on those factors most likely to affect the wellbeing of gay, lesbian, and bisexual doctors: homophobia, the difficulties encountered by homosexual …