Marcos Siqueiros, MD
“The collective dedication of my colleagues to embracing the values of equity and inclusion and meaningfully elevating the care experience of marginalized communities has been a motivator for me and will continue to be until I retire.”
“Gender-affirming care is a mindset and philosophy of care delivery, a patient-centered model that focuses on compassion, cultural humility, and service,” says Marcos Siqueiros, MD, regional lead of transgender care experience for KP Northern California.
Throughout his career, Dr. Siqueiros has taken on leadership roles in medical education around gender affirming care, LGBTQ+ health, and long COVID medicine.
“He has driven our whole program to provide exceptional, welcoming care to these patient populations,” says Rakesh Chaudhary, MD, physician-in-chief of KP Santa Clara.
The driving force behind improving LGBTQ+ patient care experiences at KP, Dr. Siqueiros designed a multifaceted educational strategy to address barriers to care, including the “Pathways to Gender-Affirming Care” program, TPMG’s first regional CME series on LGBTQ+ health topics, and the enduring “Introduction to Gender-Affirming Care” modules on KP Learn, which have been completed by over 4,000 learners.
Likewise, during the COVID-19 pandemic Dr. Siqueiros stepped up to help provide daily regional informational briefings, and he was subsequently tapped to develop and lead the long COVID program.
“He is having a dramatic impact on how our physicians care for patients, and most importantly, those that are either historically marginalized or overlooked,” says Ted O’Connell, MD, FAAFP, director of medical education for KP Northern California.
Dr. Siqueiros cocreated clinical guidelines for long COVID, developed an educational curriculum for physicians, and helped create online resources and the long COVID support class series for patients. In addition to basic clinical information, the class provides a sense of community for long COVID patients by offering opportunities to connect with other patients and share experiences.
“At the beginning of the COVID pandemic I saw a lot of parallels to the AIDS epidemic,” Dr. Siqueiros says. “There was a lot of fear and misinformation and even dismissing the very real experiences that patients were facing. That ignited in me the idea that our patients and providers need a stable message from a trusted resource that was calm, consistent, and based in science.”