Experience of being gay, lesbian or bisexual at an Australian medical school: a qualitative study

Abstract

Six undergraduate students were interviewed in a qualitative study about their experiences as gay, lesbian or bisexual students studying Medicine, Informants, who were identified by snowball sampling, spoke about their experiences both freely and in response to a series of prompt questions derived from previous research. The transcribed interviews were subjected to framework analysis, whereby the researcher identified themes, concepts and key issues. Twelve main themes resulted from the analysis. The focal theme was secrecy, along with discrimination, fear, isolation, conservatism, exclusion and gossip. Other themes included academic performance, the curriculum, a lack of support, and career. One positive theme emerged from the data, that of acceptance of self and from others. The findings are consistent with those of other qualitative and quantitative studies. The lack of respect and acceptance perceived by gay, lesbian and bisexual students is a situation that should be addressed by individual medical schools and by the profession as a whole. Lip service to cultural inclusiveness must translate into practice.