Faces of U of T Medicine: Luke Swenson
Tell us about your area of interest.
I'm interested in a lot of areas. Before medical school, I did a PhD where I studied HIV. Doing that taught me a lot about not just infectious disease and immunology but also public health, social justice, and LGBTQ+ issues. HIV disproportionately affects the most marginalized people in our society: especially men who have sex with men, trans folks, injection drug users, sex workers, and Indigenous people. It's important for medical trainees to understand the unique voices of all these people so we can better serve them and advocate for their health.
Tell us about Out in Medicine. What does the club do?
Out in Medicine is the club at the University of Toronto for LGBTQ+ medical students. Medical school can be a huge period of change for all students, and this can be especially challenging if we're also coming out as trans or queer. Out in Medicine organizes socials for folks to connect with each other so we can all support each other. We also organize speaker series for health professional students including medical students, nursing students, and other allied health professional programs. The speakers come and teach us about topics that don't currently get covered in our medical school curriculum such as medications and hormones for our trans patients, caring for LGBTQ+ seniors, and other issues faced by LGBTQ+ patients so we can be better healthcare providers for them.
What improvements do you think are needed in medicine in terms of addressing LGBTQ+ health issues?
First off, I think medical schools need to be more active in encouraging LGBTQ+ folks to consider medicine as a career. I think it gives us a unique perspective on privilege, marginalization, and the importance of being patient-centered. Minorities of many different types (Black students, Indigenous students, LGBTQ+ students) tend to be under-represented amongst medical trainees and the physician workforce. Increasing diversity should really be a priority moving forward.
In terms of medical education, I'd like to see more time committed to exploring social justice and anti-oppression in general. I also think we need more specific LGBTQ+ content in medical curricula. Medical students and physicians need to be comfortable talking about gender and sexuality with all their patients, and this is especially true for folks who are gender and sexual minorities. Continued stigma and misunderstanding of LGBTQ+ people mean that there are often barriers to accessing healthcare and we as trainees should educate ourselves to try to minimize those barriers.
Any plans for Pride Month? What’s your favourite thing about Pride?
My favourite thing about Pride is it transforms a whole city into a safer and celebratory space for LGBTQ+ folks. There are lots of places that aren't safe for gender and sexual minorities to be ourselves or even hold hands. Pride is a time when LGBTQ+ people can experience an environment with less oppression and more value in diversity.
I'm missing Toronto Pride this year unfortunately, but I'll be out west for Vancouver Pride in August!
What do you do when you’re not in school?
I'm pretty big into podcasts like Radiolab, The American Life, and The Rounds Table. I love to listen to them at the gym because it feels like I'm getting two things accomplished at once --learning new things and getting exercise. I also like biking, reading, Netflix, travelling, and eating out.
Faces of U of T Medicine introduces you to some of the interesting people studying in the Faculty of Medicine. From advising political leaders to providing care to Toronto’s most vulnerable populations, our students are making an impact on communities at home and around the world.
Do you have an interesting story to share? Contact us at medicine.communications@utoronto.ca.
