293A STUDY ON EFFECT OF GENDER ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF MEDICAL EDUCATIONGender discrimination is reported in various fields across the world. It is also present in medical field. At the budding stage, as a medico, a girl student may be facing many types of gender issues. This study was started to find out if there are gender issues in the learning environment of a girl in a medical college. About 85 female students were selected. They belonged to different stages of medical course. They were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire dwelt upon campus comforts, distractions, special needs of a girl, library experience and learning situations in hospitals. Peer group interactions, decisions on future education, service preferences and extracurricular aspects were also covered.92% reported comfortable college life. 60% only were comfortable with library timings. 83% were satisfied with the learning environment in the hospital. 93% reported adequate peer group interactions irrespective of gender. About 60% only reported ability to go on tours and visit outside places for learning. 57% reported that gender would not influence the selection of the postgraduate specialty.Parental support was found more only for pre-final year students. Interns need flexible library timings. Final year students need extended library timings. Final year students show less preference for research work compared to prefinal year students. Prefinal year students need more cultural activities to enable more interpersonal interactions. Female medical students are comfortable with the learning environment. Needs vary for different phases of medical education and planners need to keep this in mind while providing facilities and planning educational activities.bhatcr@gmail.comResearch582015Medical education,Feminine genderShilpa V,Ilakkiya,Meera Devi,C Ramachandra Bhat,Malar SivaramanDepartment of Pharmacology, Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai 600010, Tamil Nadu, India,Department of Pharmacology, Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai 600010, Tamil Nadu, India,Department of Pharmacology, Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai 600010, Tamil Nadu, India,Department of Pharmacology, Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai 600010, Tamil Nadu, India,Department of Pharmacology, Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai 600010, Tamil Nadu, India