Forum Post
I am writing to express concern about the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine’s recent accreditation of Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses affiliated with the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM), an organization whose positions on transgender healthcare have been widely characterized in medical scholarship as inconsistent with established clinical standards, ethical practice, and evidence-based care.
SEGM’s framework—often referred to as “gender exploratory therapy”—has been described in medical literature as deviating from accepted principles of patient autonomy, informed consent, and contemporary clinical practice. Leading medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the Endocrine Society, have issued clear public statements supporting evidence-based gender-affirming care and opposing non-evidence-based approaches. While such organizations do not typically comment on fringe groups by name, their clinical guidance stands in clear contrast to the views promoted by SEGM.
I understand that the College of Medicine has temporarily suspended these CME offerings pending review. I appreciate this swift action and the university’s attention to the issue. At the same time, the initial accreditation of these courses raises important questions about:
Alignment with rigorous medical education and ethical standards
Compliance with accreditation requirements for CME content
Vetting processes for external partners and course materials for scientific validity, balance, and patient safety
This situation also appears to reflect a procedural gap: CME accreditation decisions of this nature did not fall under Faculty Senate purview. I want to acknowledge and thank Senate representatives who responded quickly once alerted — that responsiveness reinforces the importance of shared governance. Still, the fact that this partnership advanced without wider faculty awareness suggests an opportunity to review or clarify oversight mechanisms for external educational partnerships with potential clinical and ethical implications. A formal notification or review pathway could help ensure transparency and safeguard institutional values, accreditation integrity, and community trust.
As a faculty member committed to academic integrity, ethical scholarly practice, and equitable healthcare education, I believe it is important for us to take seriously the risks posed when university-affiliated educational activities align with medically unsupported approaches. I hope Senate leadership will consider whether additional transparency and oversight processes would be beneficial moving forward.
Thank you for your consideration and for your ongoing work supporting shared governance and academic standards at Washington State University.
M.A. Miller
Response
We have received an update from the College of Medicine regarding the Continuing Medical Education (CME) program’s accreditation of the course. Update linked here
Comments
While I also very much appreciate Faculty Senate representatives for raising concerns as well as for a swift response, and I believe it is appropriate that WSU’s CME accredited SEGM offerings are now at least temporarily suspended, I am writing to echo concerns about the initial accreditation process, including apparently no Faculty Senate review or opportunity for faculty input. Accreditation compliance for CME offerings, medical education ethics more generally, and vetting processes for external partners and course materials for scientific validity, balance, and patient safety, are, as the previous post highlights, areas that raise important questions. Such questions, especially given the context in which they arose and are being posed with respect to academic integrity, ethical practice, and equitable health care, are best discussed openly in consideration of WSU Faculty shared governance and public interest alike.
Please accept my apologies, the author of the forum post was not listed due to a system issue, the author did request their name be published with the post. This issues has been resolved.