The University of Alberta hosted a three-day workshop offered by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) about mental health, hormone treatment, surgical options, laws, policies and ethics. This is the first time WPATH's education effort has come to Canada. About 110 family doctors, medical students, social workers, residents, gynecologists and others were in attendance. Dr. Gail Knudson, a B.C. clinical psychiatrist and past-president of the WPATH, believes a lack of health professionals equipped to care for transgender patients can lead to anxiety, depression, suicide risk, homelessness, poverty and lower quality of life. In addition to more coverage in medical school curriculum, she’d like to see transgender health covered on graduation exams, more post-graduate residency options and more training options for doctors.
NBHC Care Experience