Curriculum standards
Knowledge guides
LG14: Gender, sexual, and reproductive health
Key presentations and conditions
Advanced Trainees will have a comprehensive depth of knowledge of these presentations and conditions.
Less common or more complex presentations and conditions
Advanced Trainees will understand these presentations and conditions.
Advanced Trainees will understand the resources that should be used to help manage patients with these presentations and conditions.
Epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical sciences
Advanced Trainees will have a comprehensive depth of knowledge of the principles of the foundational sciences.
Investigations, procedures, and clinical assessment tools
Advanced Trainees will know the scientific foundation of each investigation and procedure, including relevant anatomy and physiology. They will be able to interpret the reported results of each investigation or procedure.
Advanced Trainees will know how to explain the investigation or procedure to patients, families, and carers, and be able to explain procedural risk and obtain informed consent where applicable.
Important specific issues
Advanced Trainees will identify important specialty-specific issues and the impact of these on diagnosis and management and integrate these into care.
Gender health presentations
- Gender identity exploration and diversity
Gender health conditions
- Gender incongruence
Sexual and reproductive health presentations
- Abnormal uterine bleeding:
- amenorrhoea
- irregular (anovulatory)
- menorrhagia
- Genital skin lesions
- Pelvic discharge
- Pelvic pain:
- dysmenorrhea
- dyspareunia
Sexual and reproductive health conditions
- Bacterial vaginosis
- Common genital dermatological conditions
- Endometriosis
- Gynaecomastia
- Menstrual conditions
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- Precocious puberty
- Pregnancy
- Pubertal delay
- Sexually transmitted infections:
- chlamydia
- gonorrhoea
- hepatitis:
- B
- C
- herpes simplex virus (HSV)
- human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
- human papillomavirus (HPV)
- human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1)
- syphilis
- trichomonas
For each presentation and condition, Advanced Trainees will know how to:
Synthesise
- recognise the clinical presentation
- identify relevant epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical science
- take a relevant clinical history
- conduct an appropriate examination
- establish a differential diagnosis
- plan and arrange appropriate investigation
- consider the impact of illness and disease on patients and families, and their quality of life
Manage
- provide evidence-based management
- for less common or more complex presentations and conditions the trainee must also seek expert opinions
- prescribe therapies tailored to patients’ needs and conditions
- recognise potential complications of disease and its management, and initiate preventative strategies
- involve multidisciplinary teams
Consider other factors
- identify individual and social factors and the impact of these on diagnosis and management
Presentations
- Sexual:
- abuse
- assault
- dysfunction
Conditions
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Female genital mutilation
- Ovarian cysts:
- complex
- simple
- Pelvic inflammatory disease
- Uterine abnormalities:
- acquired
- congenital
Synthesise
- recognise the clinical presentation
- identify relevant epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical science
- take a relevant clinical history
- conduct an appropriate examination
- establish a differential diagnosis
- plan and arrange appropriate investigation
- consider the impact of illness and disease on patients and families, and their quality of life
Manage
- provide evidence-based management
- for less common or more complex presentations and conditions the trainee must also seek expert opinions
- prescribe therapies tailored to patients’ needs and conditions
- recognise potential complications of disease and its management, and initiate preventative strategies
- involve multidisciplinary teams
Consider other factors
- identify individual and social factors and the impact of these on diagnosis and management
Gender health
- Pharmacology, mechanism of action, and side effects of:
- assessment for pubertal stage
- assessment of capacity to consent
- management of gender affirming hormones:
- oestrogen
- testosterone
- management of menstrual suppression
- management of pubertal suppression
Sexual and reproductive health
- Adolescent reproductive health care needs
- Aetiology, epidemiology, and management of sexually transmitted infections
- Hormonal and physiological changes during puberty
- Normal menstrual cycle, and the concept of anovulatory cycling during pubertal development
- Normal physical growth and pubertal development, including expected chronology and Tanner staging
- Normal physiological changes in pregnancy
- Pharmacology of common contraceptive agents, such as:
- adverse effects
- common myths
- contraindications
- failure rate
- mechanism of action
- options for contraception, such as:
- barrier methods
- emergency
- hormonal
- implantable
- injectable
- permanent, such as hysterectomy, and oophorectomy
- other indications for use of contraceptive agents
- side effects
- suitability
- use of contraception in adolescents with chronic illness, disability, and intellectual impairment
- Prevalence of health risk behaviours and mental health issues during puberty
- Sexual and reproductive anatomy and physiology
- Stages of normal sexual development
- Role of immunisations in sexual health
Investigations
- Blood investigations, such as:
- blood-borne virus serology
- menorrhagia, such as iron and coagulation studies
- reproductive bloods, such as:
- follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
- luteinising hormone (LH)
- oestradiol
- testosterone
- Bone age
- Bone mineral density scan (DEXA)
- Initial assessment and examination of victims of sexual assault
- Microbiology tests, such as:
- rectal
- throat swab
- vaginal
- Ultrasound
- Urine tests
- X-ray
Procedures
- Immunisations, such as:
- hepatitis:
- B
- C
- HPV
- hepatitis:
- Long-acting reversible contraceptive insertion and removal, such as:
- Implanon
- intrauterine devices
- Specific considerations for the following groups:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Māori adolescents
- adolescents whose parents have a mental illness or substance misuse
- adolescents with a disability
- asexual individuals
- homeless young people
- LGBTQIA+ adolescents
- neurodiverse young people
- refugee and asylum seeker families
- socioeconomically disadvantaged young people
- victims of physical and/or sexual abuse
- young people in custody or out-of-home care
Gender health
- Medical gender affirming care:
- pharmacological management of gender
- surgical gender affirming care
- Non-medical gender affirming care:
- binding
- social transition
- Principles of gender identity
Sexual and reproductive health
- Considerations in adolescent and young adult pregnancy, such as:
- impact on adolescent development
- impact on chronic disease, including medication safety
- management of patients with neurodevelopmental conditions / intellectual impairment
- public health impact of unintended adolescent pregnancy, such as adoption and common issues faced by AYA as parents
- termination, including clinical issues and local laws
- Considerations of the implications for the individual of the recognition of an LGBTQIA+ identity and orientation
- Impact of sexual development on adolescents with chronic physical and neurodevelopmental conditions
- Principles of sexuality, including consensual safe sexual practices