For Shana Zucker, being out is part of the job. “Being queer is not only central to my personal identity, but also my professional identity,” she tells GO. Her identity as a queer physician and her interest in queer health equity and education led her to create the “Queericulum,” a curriculum designed to teach sexual and gender minority health to medical students. “Being out has enabled me to connect to a network of fellow out health professionals. We’re here, we’re queer, and we are working to make sure that all patients — especially our LGBTQ+ community — feel comfortable being their authentic selves, and that they will be met with healthcare providers who will provide the highest quality care.” She also co-authored “Teaching LGBTQ+ Health,” a free, open-access curriculum for healthcare providers and educators that covers the basics of teaching queer health concepts. Zucker, who is currently an internal medicine resident at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Health, was awarded the LGBT Health Achievement Award from both the American Medical Student Association and GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality. She’s also the recipient of two Changemaker Catalyst Awards from Tulane University’s Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking, and the Junior Leadership Award from the Building the Next Generation of Academic Physicians LGBT Health Workforce. Based on her work and success, Zucker wants the LGBTQ+ community to know that “there are providers (including myself) who are out here working to make the healthcare space more inclusive and safe for people of all genders, sexes, and sexualities.” She tells GO, “It is our responsibility as healthcare providers to create a safe environment and to learn everything we need to know to address your unique health needs — and there are those of us out there working to get our peers to catch up!” —RK
