COM student organizations' initiative leads AOA to add patient’s sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination statement

An initiative by several University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine student groups led to a unanimous vote by the American Osteopathic Association House of Delegates on July 21, 2012 that amends the Association's nondiscrimination statement to say that physicians should not refuse to accept patients because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

COM student Christine Fitzsimmons, OMS III, an alternate Maine delegate to the AOA House, advocated at the national level for this initiative working through the COM Student Government Association.

A July 22nd story in The DO quotes Fitzsimmons at length. “This vote is a statement that members of the American Osteopathic Association are not going to discriminate based on gender identity or sexual orientation. We’re showing the LGBT community they can trust us,” she told The DO.

Fitzsimmons explained, “Many in the LGBT community are not comfortable seeking medical care because they are afraid of being judged.”

The amendment was written by Q- Med, COM's queer-straight alliance, with Keith Egan, OMS III, (founder and president of the alliance and past vice president of the Student Government Association) and Aviva Wallace OMS IV (founder and co-president of the alliance) being the primary authors. Matt Holz, OMS III, past president of the COM Student Osteopathic Medical Association, brought the initiative forward through SOMA.

Fitzsimmons said the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents, of which she is the national secretary, is considering helping develop another resolution aimed at preventing discrimination against osteopathic medical students based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. “Now that we’ve taken care of protecting patients, we need to take care of ourselves,” she said. Read the story.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.