Lesbian, bisexual, and gay graduates of the Yale School of Medicine and their heterosexual peers : attitudes and experiences, 1969-1998

222 Pages·2000·7.9 MB·English

by  Rubineau, Angela Joan

yale university library
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YALE
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CUSHING/WHITNEY
MEDICAL LIBRARY

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Lesbian, Bisexual, and Gay Graduates
of the Yale School of Medicine
and Their Heterosexual Peers:
Attitudes and Experiences, 1969-1998
A Thesis Submitted to the
Yale University School of Medicine
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine
Angela Joan Rubineau
May 2000
YSIF MEDTCA1 LIBSARV
AUG 01 7000
ABSTRACT
The purpose of the study is to examine physician graduates of the Yale School of
Medicine’s attitudes toward and experiences with homosexual patients and colleagues,
and to document for the first time the unique experiences of the lesbian, bisexual, and gay
(“lesbigay) Yale graduates themselves. In November 1999, a questionnaire was mailed to
all 2703 living graduates of Yale School of Medicine from the class of 1969 to the class
of 1998. The questionnaire asked for information on personal and professional
demographics; experiences with lesbigay acquaintances currently and while at Yale; and
attitudes toward homosexuality and Yale's sexuality education. Of the 1086 responding
graduates (response rate 40.2%), anti-gay bias was very rare, with only 1% displaying
“homophobic” attitudes on a standardized scale, and only 1.2% of respondents saying
they would deny medical school admission to a qualified gay, lesbian, or bisexual
applicant. The majority of respondents (55%) have heard disparaging remarks about
lesbigay patients, and most (65%) have worked with a lesbigay colleague. Respondents
who a have lesbigay colleague, friend, or family member are significantly more positive
toward homosexuality than those who don't, and among recent graduates, over 95%
report knowing a lesbigay Yale Medical student. One in 15 respondents (6.5%) currently
identifies as lesbigay; of these, more than a third (36%) have been the victims of
discrimination based on their sexual orientation, including 5 people (7%) who have been
physically attacked for being gay. In conclusion, Yale Medicine graduates from the past
thirty years display less anti-gay bias than any previously published study of physicians.
Openly gay physicians have become increasingly common, and interaction with them and