Sexuality issues arise at Med Center 






 Lisa Stevens John 

ljohn@kansan.com 

Kansan staff writer 

No courses deal specifically with homosexuality or bisexual issues at 
the University of Kansas Medical Center, said Dorothy Knoll, dean of 
student services. 

³I would be greatly surprised if there were any specific classes devoted 
totally to that,² Knoll said. ³On the other hand, as we deal with all of 
the social groups in our society, I would also be surprised if at some 
point that topic was not a topic of discussion in the clinical 
practice.² 

Knoll said that issues of homosexuality and bisexuality might be 
discussed in the psychiatry department. 

³I would think it wouldn“t take a quantum leap to realize that in that 
field, in psychiatry, that there are many issues that they would have to 
deal with,² Knoll said. 

David Calkins, acting associate dean for medical education, said that in 
the second year psychiatric course, which is taught at the Med Center, 
there was a small section devoted to gay and lesbian activity, as well 
as to heterosexual activity. 

³This is an introductory-level session on sexual development,² he said. 
³It takes approximately two hours out of a semester-long course.² 

Calkins said that medical students were taught to ask patients about 
their sexuality when taking patient histories. 

³We ask patients if they are sexually active, if they have a single 
partner or if there are multiple partners and if their partners are male 
or female,² Calkins said. ³It is important to know of any health risks 
that might be associated with sexual activity.² 

Another area where homosexual and bisexual issues come up is in direct 
encounters with patients, Calkins said. 

³This includes when students learn about HIV/AIDS, which 
disproportionately affects gays and lesbians,² he said. ³However, the 
emphasis is not placed on sexuality, but on the disease,² Calkins said.