Harvard Medical School was forced to scrap a $650 course on transgender health care after the Ivy League was pressed on why it waived the lofty fee for trans doctors – while requiring everyone else to pay full price, a new report revealed.
The Boston institution had previously promoted that its accredited virtual course, titled “Advancing Excellence in Transgender Health,” was available at no cost to “transgender” and “gender diverse” doctors wishing to enroll, according to the National Review.
But when pressed about the legality of forcing physicians to pay the hefty fee while issuing waivers to transgender participants, the school backtracked – telling the outlet the course had been “postponed” and swiftly wiped any mention of the offer from its website.
Harvard Medical School was forced to scrap a $650 course on transgender health care after the Ivy League was pressed on why it waived the lofty fee for trans doctors. REUTERS
Harvard later confirmed to The Post that the course would be rescheduled.
“The continuing education course ‘Advancing Excellence in Transgender Health: A Core Course for the Whole Care Team,’ which is offered and developed by the Fenway Institute and accredited by Harvard Medical School, has been postponed and will be rescheduled for later this academic year,” the school said in a statement.
“HMS remains committed to ensuring that the courses we accredit comply with applicable laws.”
Officials did not elaborate on why the three-day postgraduate program – set to kick off on Oct. 24 for doctors, nurses, psychologists, pharmacists, and social workers – was suddenly put on hold.
The medical training program, developed by The Fenway Institute and led by experts in transgender health-focused research and patient care, has reportedly been taught for 11 years.
The workshop aims to educate medical staff on the standard of care for transgender and gender-diverse patients – adults, adolescents and children – while teaching them how to use gender identity data to boost care quality and satisfaction, according to Harvard’s website.
The workshop aims to educate medical staff on the standard of care for transgender and gender-diverse patients. NurPhoto via Getty Images
The program also promotes an integrated, patient-centered model that links behavioral health with primary care.
“Advancing Excellence in Transgender Health was developed in response to the high volume of queries from clinicians and health care staff seeking to learn about providing high-quality care for adults, adolescents, and children who are transgender or gender diverse,” the website states.
“In addition to didactic presentations, attendees will learn from lived experience panels and have the opportunity to engage in interactive discussions that highlight medical and behavioral health approaches to gender-affirming care, led by experienced clinicians specialized in transgender health.”
Before the course was postponed, all fee waivers had already been snapped up, and a waitlist was created for additional applicants, the National Review reported.
It remains unclear if the school violated any federal civil rights laws by offering the waiver to trans applicants.
“Access to the fee waiver is based on how an individual identifies, regardless of the individual’s sex,” Rachel Morrison, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told the outlet.
“If you have a male who identifies as a man and a male who identifies as a woman, only the latter would have access to the fee waiver, so access is based on ‘gender identity,’ not sex.
“But the question is whether the medical education fee waiver based on ‘gender identity’ is prohibited under federal civil rights law. And I would say no.”