Medical training platform is offering a free CPD-accredited online course on providing transgender healthcare for patients during 2026.
The course is being made available free of charge to medical students at UK universities from 13 to 20 November 2026.
The offer follows a 2026 NHS England-commissioned review, which found that LGBTQ+ health teaching is not a required part of UK medical training.
The review also found that just one in eight medical students felt their knowledge of LGBTQ+ healthcare was good enough.
The importance of transgender healthcare teachings
Affirm’s co-founder, clinical psychologist and gender specialist Laura Scarrone Bonhomme, stressed the importance of training the next generation of healthcare professionals.
“Doctors deserve to feel fully prepared for the realities of modern clinical practice. While NHSE guidance places increasing responsibility on individual clinicians, it fails to allocate sufficient time to equip them with the knowledge needed to support gender and sexual minorities.”
She added: “It saddens me every time I hear doctors worry about saying the wrong thing when caring for trans and non-binary patients, while those same community members dread seeking care for fear of discrimination.
“Affirm addresses that disconnect through reflective and ethical training. None of us are free from unconscious bias. By building the habit of examining our own actions, values, and cultural assumptions, we can ensure our practice remains safe, objective, and centred on the best interests of every patient.”
What the course offers
Adapted from Scarrone Bonhomme, Dr Michael Beattie and Skye Davies’ award-winning book, Gender Affirming Therapy: A Guide to What Transgender and Non-Binary Clients Can Teach Us, the course consists of six modules covering clinical pathways to gender-affirming healthcare, gender norms, sexuality, the history of trans health, first-hand accounts from trans and non-binary people, and the clinician’s role.
The training is endorsed by transgender healthcare provider Gender Plus. Its director and clinical psychologist, Dr Claudia Zitz, highlighted the importance of the course.
“The need for training to support trans and non-binary patients has never been greater, and I have no doubt that medical students will gain a huge amount of insight from which their patients will ultimately benefit.”
Students can register online using their university email address.