Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Committee

Read PDF report

Our committee was established in 2020 and we have proudly completed our fifth year together.   This committee was founded to empower Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual and more (2SLGBTQIA+) physicians and learners in emergency medicine through research, representation, education, mentorship and advocacy. 

Our committee has been actively engaged since its inception in efforts to improve the care of 2SLGBTQIA+ patients in emergency departments across Canada, and beyond.

2SLGBTQIA+ patients in Canada face inequitable barriers in accessing emergency care as well as differential outcomes. Dr. Kruse published a landmark scoping review “Care of Sexual and Gender Minorities in the Emergency Department: A scoping review” which identified may inequities and targets for action to improve emergency medicine care for sexual and gender minorities.

Dr. Primavesi and other members of our group led a national consensus process during the 2021 CAEP Academic Symposium on “Education about Sexual and Gender Minorities within Canadian Emergency Medicine Residency Programs” which identified a curricular gap in Canadian emergency medicine training programs. The output from this effort was a series of actionable recommendations for residency programs to enhance the capacities of their trainees to provide expert care with cultural humility for sexual and gender minority folks and to support a shift towards a culture of diversity and inclusion.

In 2023-2024 our committee led the development of a virtual curriculum for interdisciplinary emergency medicine providers to enhance their capacity to provide inclusive care for 2SLGBTQIA+ patients. These teachings support the development of cultural humility and expertise in emergency health issues relevant to 2SLGBTQIA+ populations.  The development of this curriculum has been a substantial effort that has included engagement with 2SLGBTQIA+ patients and community members, with the Community-Based Research Centre (a national non-profit organization with a mandate to promote the health of people of diverse sexualities and genders through research and intervention development), as well as partnerships with 2SLGBTQIA+ health experts and ally content and methodologic experts.

In 2025 this curriculum was made available, open access and free of charge with the intention of reaching as many EM providers as possible.  Ongoing efforts to ensure widespread uptake of the curriculum are ongoing.

Our committee webpage was refreshed and updated as was our Visibility Project with content showcasing physicians who identify with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.  We recognize that representation matters and by sharing our stories we hope to contribute to a culture of inclusiveness that celebrates diversity.

The CAEP sexual orientation and gender identity committee welcomes new members and if you would like to collaborate with us, learn more about the group or join us then please send us a message via the CAEP SOGI committee website!