The challenges of being an LGBTQ doctor

By Kristen Fuller, MD | Fact-checked by MDLinx Staff 
| Updated July 5, 2022

There’s a lot we don’t know about doctors who identify as LGBTQ.
LGBTQ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.

We don't know how many LGBTQ doctors there are, what specialties they're in, or where they practice.
As physicians, we’re often so focused on the inclusion of our LGBTQ patient population, but we’re behind in discussing LGBTQ medical students and physicians.
It’s time to have that discussion, and consider how we can better support our LGBTQ colleagues in the medical workplace.

The numbers
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has only recently started to collect information pertaining to sexual orientation and gender identity from medical students.[1] Since 2016, the organization has included two sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) questions in its annual Matriculating Student Questionnaire and Medical School Graduation Questionnaire.
From 2017 to 2019, the percentage of graduating medical students identifying as bisexual increased from 4.2% to 5%, and those who identified as gay or lesbian increased from 3.6% to 3.8%.
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