Transgender and intersex health in undergraduate medical education: a curriculum analysis of medical degree programmes in Poland

Transgender and intersex people experience substantial health inequalities and require healthcare professionals with specific clinical, psychosocial, and communication competencies. Although medical education is increasingly recognised as an important strategy to improve care, little is known about whether transgender- and intersex- related content is formally incorporated into undergraduate medical curricula. A cross-sectional, document-based review was conducted of undergraduate curricula at the 11 largest public universities in Poland offering medical education, which together accounted for 83.0% for all medical degree completions reported nationwide in 2025. Official curriculum documents, course catalogues, syllabuses, and Public Information Bulletin records were systematically reviewed using predefined search terms related to transgender and intersex health. Courses were classified according to their relevance, compulsory or optional status, and disciplinary placement. Transgender-related content was identified in the compulsory curriculum of only one university (1/11). Optional teaching was available at seven universities (7/11), although six offered only a single elective course. Four universities (4/11) provided no identifiable transgender-related content in either compulsory or optional teaching. Marked heterogeneity was observed between universities, and identified teaching was predominantly delivered by departments of psychology, psychiatry, sexology, ethics, and the medical humanities, with little evidence of integration into biomedical or clinical disciplines. No explicit intersex-related content was identified in the available compulsory or optional course syllabuses. Transgender health is not yet systematically embedded in undergraduate medical education at Polish universities. Curricular provision remains limited, highly heterogeneous, and largely dependent on optional teaching and local institutional initiatives. More systematic incorporation of transgender and intersex health into compulsory undergraduate medical education could help ensure that all future physicians acquire a common minimum level of competence to provide competent, respectful, and multidisciplinary care.