July 2022

Due to an abundance of submissions for last month’s theme issue on “LGBTQIA+, Sex and Gender Health,” July’s SGIM Forum includes additional articles on the same topic. As the ad hoc second volume on the theme, the content here offers perspectives and information that demonstrate several examples of how much and what kinds of impacts our skills and connections as physicians — with patients, each other, society, and so many more stakeholders in our populations’ health — can have.

Simone Chriss and co-authors offer five recommendations for medical schools to move towards more LGBTQ+ inclusive education on the front page of this issue. Megan McNamara and co-authors then offer tips for learners to find training programs that provide affirming environments and additional important features for LGBTQ+ applicants. Carl Streed and co-authors explore the important area of LGBTQ/2S representation in various aspects of health care research. In our Health Policy Corner, Erica Heiman and co-authors discuss opportunities for telehealth for mental health conditions.

Reflective essays in this issue also tell us of SGIM members’ values on inclusion that bridge personal and professional spaces. Lucille Torres-Deas shares personal experiences and a call for much more widespread LGBTQIA+ inclusion. Aliza Norwood responds to recent legislation that increases barriers to care for LGBTQI+ patients.

In addition to extended theme issue content, Eric Bass, SGIM CEO, and the three current JGIM Co-Editors discuss the achievement and future ahead for JGIM. The Call for Letters of Interest for the position of Editor(s)-in-Chief of JGIM is still open until July 15, 2022. Also, LeRoi Hicks, SGIM President, remarks in his column on living by our values as a Society. As the SGIM Forum Editor notes, we learn not only how to doctor but to be a doctor, and being a doctor impacts lives well beyond the individual physician-patient visit. What other ways do you have an impact as a SGIM member? Contact the Editor to share your impact in SGIM Forum.