Transgender nurses...
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Topics should be about experiences, comments, and observations from our members' personal lives.
Topics should be about experiences, comments, and observations from our members' personal lives.
Transgender nurses...
OMG! Am following a post in one of my nurse Facebook groups where one of my so-called colleagues is insisting that patients have the right to ”full disclosure" re: the gender of the nurse caring for them (this, in response to a post re: transgender nurses). WTF??? Sorry to burst this person's bubble, BUT, as long as my behavior towards said patient is professional and my nursing actions on his/her behalf are sound and prudent, the genitalia lurking beneath my scrubs are NONE of his/her business! Notice to all homophobic/transphobic peeps -- if you're THAT particular re: the genitals of the nurse caring for you, might I suggest that you stay at home and hire a private-duty caregiver who may or may not meet your requirements (last I checked, it's not legal to require a potential employee to show their genitals as a condition of employment!)?
Last edited by brandtrn on 04 Nov 2015, 04:17, edited 1 time in total.
"The miracle is this: the more we share, the more we have." -- Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015)
Re: OMG -- again!
I might also add, that if you're sick enough to be in the freaking hospital, then you should ALSO be too freaking sick to CARE what type of genitalia the nurse caring for you might have...again, as long as his/her behavior towards you is professional and the care rendered has been good. Gawd, how I hate people who nitpick about such stupid things when the world in general is going to Hell in a handbasket and nobody seems to give a hairy rat's ass about THAT!
"The miracle is this: the more we share, the more we have." -- Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015)
Re: Transgender nurses...
This is an emotion filled topic for many people in spite of, or perhaps because of, the recent Supreme Court ruling favoring same sex marriages. The ruling was a tremendous boost for legal recognition of the LGBT community. Prior to the ruling many groups we advertising their support and the big debate in the feminist world became a need to change our perception of gender. Obviously the issues involved go well beyond religious beliefs. Sadly, it appears that nothing has been settled any more than the rights of non-white people after the Kennedy Era implementation of today's Civil Rights laws. The underlying feelings are still strong.
Regarding your particular situation as a health care provider, I don't think any of the gender issues embraced by the general population are left behind at the registration desk. One doctor does not suit all patients, and so it goes down the line. The need for immediate care does not supersede emotions and perceptions it took an entire lifetime to establish. You don't have to be reminded of all this because I know it's part of your nurses' training to be aware. As a professional you are not supposed to inject your personal biases into the treatment of your patients. But, is that prohibition too not a bias? It is, of course, but professionals are to be relied upon to be consistent across all lines. This consistency has the effect of equalizing treatment for all the various patients to whom you must administer health care. Professionalism also removes the personal responsibility involved when making judgment calls. Everybody gets the well documented and clearly defined professional treatment.
The question quickly becomes, "What rights do the patients have?" That one is closely followed by, "Do patients know more than their healthcare providers regarding treatments?" In spite of the obvious answers to those questions, patients do indeed know what is best for themselves when it comes to what is comforting. Isn't the quality of life and the comfort derived from the treatments part of the equation? Many doctors I've met personally don't think so. They have a huge responsibility, not to mention the boatload of legal responsibilities, to apply the proper treatments and who is this patient to question all this?
By now you can see where my line of thought is going. In order to apply proper professional care which does not compromise the morals and ethics of those whom you treat, the right of the patient to know their health care provider's biological gender must be honored. Does that right to know cause problems for the medical staff? It most certainly will when the critical care staff member is trans-gendered and there is no time to call in a replacement - even if there was one. Thus a patient's right to know can negatively impact the quality of treatments. But it's not unprecedented. There are instances where that right already is recognized and practiced. I am thinking of advanced medical directives here. Thus, if a staff of professional healthcare givers can be restrained from providing life saving treatment, how is that different than knowing a buxom nurse has a set of balls?
Regarding your particular situation as a health care provider, I don't think any of the gender issues embraced by the general population are left behind at the registration desk. One doctor does not suit all patients, and so it goes down the line. The need for immediate care does not supersede emotions and perceptions it took an entire lifetime to establish. You don't have to be reminded of all this because I know it's part of your nurses' training to be aware. As a professional you are not supposed to inject your personal biases into the treatment of your patients. But, is that prohibition too not a bias? It is, of course, but professionals are to be relied upon to be consistent across all lines. This consistency has the effect of equalizing treatment for all the various patients to whom you must administer health care. Professionalism also removes the personal responsibility involved when making judgment calls. Everybody gets the well documented and clearly defined professional treatment.
The question quickly becomes, "What rights do the patients have?" That one is closely followed by, "Do patients know more than their healthcare providers regarding treatments?" In spite of the obvious answers to those questions, patients do indeed know what is best for themselves when it comes to what is comforting. Isn't the quality of life and the comfort derived from the treatments part of the equation? Many doctors I've met personally don't think so. They have a huge responsibility, not to mention the boatload of legal responsibilities, to apply the proper treatments and who is this patient to question all this?
By now you can see where my line of thought is going. In order to apply proper professional care which does not compromise the morals and ethics of those whom you treat, the right of the patient to know their health care provider's biological gender must be honored. Does that right to know cause problems for the medical staff? It most certainly will when the critical care staff member is trans-gendered and there is no time to call in a replacement - even if there was one. Thus a patient's right to know can negatively impact the quality of treatments. But it's not unprecedented. There are instances where that right already is recognized and practiced. I am thinking of advanced medical directives here. Thus, if a staff of professional healthcare givers can be restrained from providing life saving treatment, how is that different than knowing a buxom nurse has a set of balls?
Re: Transgender nurses...
nurses being rara avis and getting rarer, you'd think people would be happy, even if one showed up with a beard AND cleavage, like that strange-looking singer from Eurovision.
when I had my colonoscopy, I was being prepped and this guy shows up "hi! i'm bruce. i'll be your nurse." the guy was the size of a lumberjack, with a stubble. I was NOT thrilled. in fact, i'd been fine not actually knowing. yet it was what it was and that's that. however, someone else might have had kittens.
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Icey
Re: Transgender nurses...
I agree in principle that it doesn't matter an iota what gender a nurse or any other professional in the care line is, has been or wants to be, but I agree with Yogi that a patient's view on such a situation should be taken into consideration. For whatever reason, someone might object to being treated by a homosexual, for example, in case they "contracted AIDS", or someone may not like the thought of being intimately examined by a member of the opposite or even same sex, whether in a natural or "altered" state.
I was in hospital for the day a few weeks ago, and a male nurse with cropped hair and a multitude of tattoos round his neck and up his arms saw to me. My back was killing me, and 2 doses of morphine scarcely touched me, but this guy was extremely caring and attentive. I couldnt've cared less if he was wearing a bra underneath his uniform or if he was only half the man he used to be - but that's just ME. Other peoples' feelings have to be taken into consideration as well though. Over here, Asian women can demand that they're only seen to by an Asian doctor, and can have a chaperone present if they have to be examined. Not counting the sense in that because of possible language barriers, it's still discriminatory against other staff, just as refusing to be seen by a transgender nurse/doctor would be, but our Patients Charter gives individuals a right to have a say in their treatment and who actually treats them.
I was in hospital for the day a few weeks ago, and a male nurse with cropped hair and a multitude of tattoos round his neck and up his arms saw to me. My back was killing me, and 2 doses of morphine scarcely touched me, but this guy was extremely caring and attentive. I couldnt've cared less if he was wearing a bra underneath his uniform or if he was only half the man he used to be - but that's just ME. Other peoples' feelings have to be taken into consideration as well though. Over here, Asian women can demand that they're only seen to by an Asian doctor, and can have a chaperone present if they have to be examined. Not counting the sense in that because of possible language barriers, it's still discriminatory against other staff, just as refusing to be seen by a transgender nurse/doctor would be, but our Patients Charter gives individuals a right to have a say in their treatment and who actually treats them.
Re: Transgender nurses...
i'd love to be able to ask for one who speaks any of my languages but they don't do that here. it's pot luck, unless your GP can think of a specialist who speaks something else than Occitan...
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Icey
Re: Transgender nurses...
We have a multitude of Asian doctors and nurses - Chinese, Arabic, the full monty, and since we're apparently "short" of doctors, another 22,000 are due to be drafted in - most likely from these Asian countries, but with a bent for those from the Muslim ones - seriously. I have no problem with that per se, except that many of these medics pass their exams back in their homelands, and their standards aren't the same as over here or in other western countries. A few in India were found to've cheated recently, but how many before them did the same thing and "passed"?
In the UK, there're hospital posters all over the place, written in as many languages as can be printed on the notices - that a translator can be found for anyone wishing to be seen to by a patient who only speaks his/her mother tongue. I think this's good practice, because we have such a multi-cultural society that it must be very difficult for those not familiar with English, and especially when discussing medical things, to properly understand or to ask questions.
Obviously, not every one can be catered for, but there are signs and information sheets written in Punjabi, Urdu and 6 or 7 other dialects, and it appears that these mostly cover language which can be understood, at least in part, by those hailing from neighbouring areas.
In the UK, there're hospital posters all over the place, written in as many languages as can be printed on the notices - that a translator can be found for anyone wishing to be seen to by a patient who only speaks his/her mother tongue. I think this's good practice, because we have such a multi-cultural society that it must be very difficult for those not familiar with English, and especially when discussing medical things, to properly understand or to ask questions.
Obviously, not every one can be catered for, but there are signs and information sheets written in Punjabi, Urdu and 6 or 7 other dialects, and it appears that these mostly cover language which can be understood, at least in part, by those hailing from neighbouring areas.
Re: Transgender nurses...
We actually *have* patients who object to seeing our hospitalist, who is from Pakistan and who wears a burka. Some of these folks take this "war on terror" all too seriously and object to seeing ANYONE of the Muslim persuasion! Those who demand to see an "American" doc are usually SOL...there aren't an awful lot of "American" board-certified internal medicine specialists (as hospitalists tend to be) affiliated with our hospital. Honestly? There aren't an awful of of them in the area, period! The majority of our internal medicine Docs tend to be Indian, Pakistani, Egyptian, etc.
"The miracle is this: the more we share, the more we have." -- Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015)
Re: Transgender nurses...
ok, the head scarves are fine, used to wear them myself as a kid. who doesn't, but when we get to the 'masks', I have a problem. and it is on so many levels I can't stand them. nothing logical, just purely emotional.
and they're fugly.
I've seen doctors and nurses of every variety going, the only ones, as group, I was not happy with were the philippinas. this was years ago, but they came across as cold, cold, cold.
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Icey
Re: Transgender nurses...
This is what we see in hospitals over here, with medical staff wearing hijabs, as we spell it.
The burka or niqab isn't allowed, for the very reasons that Vikki stated. People want to be able to see the faces of the people they're speaking to, but hijabs're very common, and a huge majority of female Muslim staff wear them, whether in hospitals, clinics or doctors' surgeries.
Not wishing to be treated by an Asian nurse or doctor's understandable from the point of view of wondering whether they're qualified as well as hoped, or that their accents might make things difficult to understand, but the majority of objection IS because of the influx of these people into the UK, and it makes folk feel slightly uncomfortable, as if we're being invaded. Naturally, the terrorist connotation crops up, but if you look at it from a detached point of view, it's racist and bigoted.
The Asian staff that I've had to come into contact with, from radiographers, pharmacists, nurses, doctors and surgeons've all been very professional, approachable and known what they were on with. It's unfair to judge someone on their skin colour or mode of dress, but on the other hand, this lurking fear's bound to be there to some degree because it's people from their countries of origin who're out to harm us. I hear people asking why, when young people from the UK come out of universities with their doctorates and can't get jobs, that so many foreign people CAN, and it IS a point.
The burka or niqab isn't allowed, for the very reasons that Vikki stated. People want to be able to see the faces of the people they're speaking to, but hijabs're very common, and a huge majority of female Muslim staff wear them, whether in hospitals, clinics or doctors' surgeries.
Not wishing to be treated by an Asian nurse or doctor's understandable from the point of view of wondering whether they're qualified as well as hoped, or that their accents might make things difficult to understand, but the majority of objection IS because of the influx of these people into the UK, and it makes folk feel slightly uncomfortable, as if we're being invaded. Naturally, the terrorist connotation crops up, but if you look at it from a detached point of view, it's racist and bigoted.
The Asian staff that I've had to come into contact with, from radiographers, pharmacists, nurses, doctors and surgeons've all been very professional, approachable and known what they were on with. It's unfair to judge someone on their skin colour or mode of dress, but on the other hand, this lurking fear's bound to be there to some degree because it's people from their countries of origin who're out to harm us. I hear people asking why, when young people from the UK come out of universities with their doctorates and can't get jobs, that so many foreign people CAN, and it IS a point.
Re: Transgender nurses...
my all time favourite PG was a Canadian whose parents were from China. he was always interested in learning more from his patients.
he married a Caucasian woman, and his parents never forgave him for that... he was not impressed.
Re: Transgender nurses...
and I STILL can't fathom someone lying in a hospital bed wondering if the nurses are gay/Muslims/Mormons/trans/intersex...
Re: Transgender nurses...
My bad...it's the hijab that our hospitalist wears, NOT a burka. Yes, we can see her face. I must have been brain-dead last night :-(
"The miracle is this: the more we share, the more we have." -- Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015)
Re: Transgender nurses...
And yes, I, too, have gotta wonder what the preoccupation is with the gender preference, genitalia and religion of caregivers around here. Honestly? These people should be freaking grateful to have access to well-trained caregivers, period. So many people in the world don't *have* that luxury...
"The miracle is this: the more we share, the more we have." -- Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015)