This month, much-loved student societies SNOGS and SHAGS came together with healthcare professionals, topic experts and organisations from across the city to explore lived experience and research in trans health at Liverpool's first student-led transgender healthcare conference.
Student Doctors Naomi Bull (SHAGS President) and Alice Hodge (SNOGS President) take us behind the scenes of the event, and reflect on a busy and rewarding year for both societies, with plenty more in the works!
The conference is part of SNOGS’ event strategy this year which is centred around caring for the person beyond medicine in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Historically, the needs of trans patients have been sidelined, and trans identity has been pathologised to fit an outdated model of care.
SHAGS and SNOGS agreed that students and professionals in Liverpool deserve opportunities to learn and to develop medical practise that is inclusive of trans needs.
On the day, we welcomed speakers from around Merseyside, including clinicians like Dr Laura Power and Dr Philip Dutton who presented on current gender identity healthcare and trans fertility preservation, while PhD student Freddy Sperring gave a history of trans healthcare in the UK. Organisations like Axess Sexual Health and Transactual also came along, with John Kelly and Kaylah from the George House Trust giving a talk on access to sexual health and lived experience of trans people living with HIV.
A standout talk from Dr Leonard Grant on barriers to medical transition drew interesting parallels between cisgender and transgender gender affirming care, highlighting how “Gender affirmation is [medically] normalised for cis people, and pathologised for trans people”, manifesting in clinical bias when prescribing the same affirming treatments, and unequal barriers to said treatment.
Another fascinating topic was the phenomenon of ‘Trans Broken Arm Syndrome’, when clinicians mistakenly dismiss common medical presentations as a complication of transition related care, sometimes going as far as refusing to treat due to an assumed lack of knowledge.
In addition to educational talks, the conference hosted a panel of the day’s speakers, joined by activist Connie Frankish and chaired by the School of Medicine’s Professor Taz Goddard-Fuller. After an incredibly positive day promoting health and solidarity, the panel was asked why Liverpool is such a hub for trans healthcare, activism and awareness.
“That’s Scousers in general” was the response from George House Trust’s John Kelly. “As a Scouser [...] we fight for what we believe in, and we fight for what’s right.”
It was clear from attendee engagement on the day that this attitude is shared by our School’s student doctors, as well as the wider University and city.
This was also apparent in the £300 raised for the Gender Identity Research & Education Society (GIRES) by the conference, a charity dedicated to accessible trans research and resources for healthcare, employment and education organisations.
A jam-packed year for SNOGS and SHAGS
Alongside supporting the Transgender Healthcare Conference and contributing to the North West Obstetrics and Gynaecology Conferences, SNOGS has recently hosted our own Faith and Culture in Medicine event exploring how identity, belief, and culture shape patient care.
Collaboration has been key, as we’ve partnered with other societies and universities to bring people together around this shared vision while raising funds for local charities.
We have also continued our much-loved traditions, including high-yield teaching sessions, School volunteering, and our Charity Pottery Painting event - all reflecting our commitment to developing compassionate, well-rounded future clinicians.
We can’t wait for our Suturing in Obs and Gynae event and Obs/Gynae high yield Revision day coming up, as well as continuing to support our brilliant volunteers in schools!
This year SHAGS has also been getting into its stride with collaborations. We have worked with Guild Deputy President Holly to host SHAG week in November, hosting a Pints and Powerpoints night of informal talks on sexual health, as well as running a stall at the Guild’s Sexual Health Fair. We helped support a charity gig with Butch Soc last term, have delivered GUM finals teaching for 5th years and have been working closely with SNOGS to help deliver their teaching sessions in schools.
Recently, we celebrated our first anniversary as a society, and we can’t wait to continue into our second year of events and teaching!
We will be hosting an evening on Sex Workers and Sexual Health in March at Cedar House, along with our annual bake sale. We are also developing sessions similar to SNOGS’ teaching in schools, directed at freshers in uni halls. But we are most excited to be presenting a poster on ‘How to set up a Sexual Health Society’ at the annual BHIVA/BASHH conference this summer in Liverpool!
This LGBTQ History Month, we want student doctors to know it’s alright to feel unsure about how to navigate LGBTQ patients you may interact with. However, it’s up to all of us to have an open mind, be respectful, and remember we are treating the person, not the label.
Discover more
- Follow SHAGS and SNOGS on Instagram for all of the latest events, opportunities and updates.
- Connect with organisations such as Axess Sexual Health, Transactual and the George House Trust to deepen your knowledge of transgender healthcare.
- Check out more exciting student-led society events on Liverpool Guild of Students.