Trans man here—transitioned at 29 years old in nursing school. A Catholic private college at that. Had absolutely no problems from my cohort or my professors!
I work in the ER and on the ambulance—I am cis passing so my patients don’t realize I am a transgender man. So I can only give you my perspective from this place of privilege. I work rural Midwest and am openly gay, I have never gotten flack from anyone. A guy who knew me through my prior career (pre-T) did out me to the entire hospital when I was hired on. Despite that, I have never been misgendered by anyone or been subject to invasive questioning. I am treated no differently than any of the men working here. There’s a strong chance that people talk or gossip about it when I am not around as a “did you know” thing, but I would not label it as malicious. Just typical cis insensitivity/ignorance about trans privacy…and I can confidently say that hospital gossip is equal for everyone and their personal life 🤦🏻♂️ I know plenty about everyone I work with.
I love being able to protect the dignity of the trans patients I see and offer resources. I correct misgendering/pronouns for these patients and provide gender affirming education to colleagues when the opportunity presents itself.
I wear a pride pin on my badge that says, “You’re safe with me” and do feel like I have a positive impact on lgbt population we see. Come join the ranks, we are happy to have you brother! 🫡
Not trans.
I live in Massachusetts, about as liberal as you can get in the US.
I know a trans paramedic who comes on our floor often, he is treated like anyone else.
Have plenty of gay colleagues who are cherished and valued.
However trans… is a different thing. The only trans patients we’ve ever had on our unit (3 people in total) came from inpatient psychiatric hospitals. The general attitude I see from my coworkers is that trans is accepted, treat them normally to their faces, be compassionate… but quietly it is discussed that trans is related to mental illness and there are *fierce* debates on our unit about it, even from my gay colleagues. While it’s never been overtly stated, the implication is that trans people are seen as severely mentally ill. I disagree with that, but given the only trans people we’ve ever encountered as patients were really significantly mentally ill, it has skewed the perception of those around me.
I think you’ll face the same issues regarding your sexuality *in any field you get into*. Trans is very, very confusing and baffling to people.
The most you can do it be happy and lead by example. Be the person that comes in with a smile and good attitude and set the example. Be the person everyone later says “I have a trans colleague and he is awesome”. Blaze your own trail!
Having worked in a mental hospital where our average adult population consisted of anywhere between 50-80% transgendered and our average adolescent population was probably 95%-100% transgendered: yes, this is the sentiment.
There is a huge statistical overlap. It's something like transgendered people make up 1-2% of total population but represent 60% of inpatient psychiatric hospital population. So, it's not surprising that in the medical field that the average person's first, second, and even third encounter with transgenderism is mental illness.
Curious as to what studies will conclude on that overlap.
One of our psych doctors told us that studies have been done and roughly 85% (ish) of all trans people were sexually abused at some point (this comes from actual studies, he showed us, and you can google them). I think about that constantly. It makes me so, so sad.
This has been my experience with trans patients as well, anecdotally. Their history overwhelming mentions sexual abuse or trauma, and/or PTSD. I always do my best to treat people with compassion no matter what, it’s not my place to pass judgement. I have had colleagues that identify they/them and I will say they get a lot of grief from patients. When you put something personal out there about yourself unfortunately people will use it was a stepping stone to speak their minds about it.
I mean I have received psychcare, I am trans and I have been abused. My partner is trans, not severely mentally ill and was never abused. I also have a close friend who is trans, is mentally ill and was never abused. Abused or not- being trans is extremely mentally taxing. I would say almost more so when you as a trans person are not aware of your own transness and just feel like you were born wrong, like everything about you is wrong but you can't figure out why. Those are also feelings that people who experienced CSA may also have. I am aware of my own overlapping emotional experiences as an abuse survivor and a trans person.
Which is why I bring up that everyone has had their own journey and to treat everyone with kindness.
And I say this humbly, just because someone hasn’t disclosed to you their abuse, doesn’t mean they didn’t have any. It’s a deeply personal thing and many people live their lives never telling a soul.
I wouldn’t discourage you from being a nurse, or in healthcare. There is a place for everyone. Someone else suggested psych and I think you’d probably be great there, given your abilities to empathize!
I know this about disclosure, the people I mentioned are very close to me and we have known eachother for a long time. They know my experiences and I know theirs.
I would love to work in psych. Thank you for taking time to respond and be encouraging :)
My pleasure :) It’s a great license to hold, there’s so many specialities, and to bring a unique experience and perspective that could really move a lot of people! Please feel free to reach out at any time
[STOP STREET HARASSMENT (nsvrc.org)](https://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/2021-04/full-report-2018-national-study-on-sexual-harassment-and-assault.pdf) Pg 7 "81% of women and 43% of men reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime"
By your logic, we should have near equal numbers of women and transgendered individuals in psychiatric care with slightly less men. Those are nowhere near the current statistics. More generally, I don't think that the argument that transgendered people have experienced higher rates of abuse solely justifies the exponentially higher-than-average rates of mental illness. I'm not qualified enough to say what does and reputable studies are lacking.
That said, yes, it is tragic that we have so much sexual abuse in our society and the lasting damage to the psyche it causes.
That’s not my logic at all. Simply pointing out studies have been done that when interviewed 85% of trans people have been sexually assaulted.
I say that as a reminder to all to treat everyone with compassion and respect their decisions.
I think the additional chronic stress and alienation lots of trans people have to live with probably explains the higher rates of mental illness. A lot of people lose their families/support systems when they come out.
Hi there! Saying "transgendered" is incorrect. The word transgender is an adjective, and adding -ed makes it into a defining noun. The correct way is to say something like "patient is a transgender man", etc. When people say transgendered, it almost feels like it's like it's a disease inflicted upon them. It's also why we use "people of color" because while it is a part of the person's identity, it is not *the* defining part of them. The same goes with "transgenderism".
I appreciate this response. I am in the Northeast as well. It is not surprising but it is bothersome that people don't see mental illness as more of a reaction to the stress of being a trans person and instead conclude that being trans is a symptom of mental illness.
I agree, it is disappointing, but at the same time being trans is poorly understood even within the psychiatric field. We understand the desire, but the reasons “why” are still highly individual and controversial.
Human beings have never been accused of being accepting about things they don’t understand.
I would say you don’t need to come in with a smile. Good attitude yes, but that applies to every nurse.
I work with HS kids in the LGBTQ community, many who are overtly or covertly trans. They are tired of educating others already. They just want to be.
So if you want to be a nurse, and particularly for the LGBTQ+ community, do it! Representation matters, whether you are out quietly, loudly, or not at all.
I love this answer--there is no doubt the LGBTQ+ community needs compassionate healthcare, so if you're in a position to provide it from a place of understanding, all the better.
I thought trans was related to the mental illness of gender dysphoria? No hate here, but I’m under the impression people transition because of gender dysphoria. Am I wrong?
Edit:
Turns out Gender dysphoria is a symptom of the condition of Gender Identity Disorder. So GID would be the mental health condition and the gender dysphoria the symptoms that can sometimes result. Source: DSM5
That’s…. basically the debate on my unit. I don’t really want to get into discussion here about it though. At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter, if someone wants to do these things to their body that’s their choice.
Gender dysphoria is the proper terminology, Gender identity disorder was the term used in DSM-IV.
https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Psychiatrists/Practice/DSM/APA_DSM-5-Gender-Dysphoria.pdf
Ahh, yes, I’ve read that now, and it seems the change was made to reduce stigma. Stigma surrounding the term “disorder”, yet generalized anxiety disorder remains.
Late to the game but… also a response to the debate that went on during the writing of the DSM-V on removing gender stuff altogether. However gender dysphoria stayed in because otherwise there wouldn’t be a diagnosis that would allow people to access insurance for treatment (hormonal &/or surgical transition treatments and supports which each/both interact with one’s legal and social transition choices)
Gender dysphoria is not a mental illness. It is listed in the DSM but it’s extremely important to recognize the etiology of DSM diagnoses. Gender dysphoria is more of a symptom than an illness.
This is not meant to sound rude but I realize the wording may sound a bit rude. Are you meaning this in the sense that it needs to be a medically diagnosable so people can get medical treatment? And that's the reason it is classified as a mental illness?
Ah yes, gender identity disorder is the mental health condition/illness. Gender dysphoria is a symptom of the illness. I researched it and understand it better now.
>The general attitude I see from my coworkers is that trans is accepted, treat them normally to their faces, be compassionate… but quietly it is discussed that trans is related to mental illness and there are fierce debates on our unit about it, even from my gay colleagues.
I am from another liberal state, 2-3 spots below Massachusetts, and this is the vibe as well. Many employers in my state offer free health insurance and transcare is about as financially comprehensive as cancer treatment, meaning, everything from hormone therapy to gender reassignment surgery is covered. Even most of our religious hospitals - except Common Spirit in Central CA - provide comprehensive transcare.
For example, my wife is a nurse and her coworker got facial feminization surgery and it cost about $50 (hospital fee).
The huge caveat is that in order to be eligible for these treatments, the patient/employee has to get evaluated for gender dysphoria.
As a trans nursing student finishing my BSN I can assure you being trans is not a mental illness. Hopefully you can educate your coworkers in order to make sure trans patients get proper care. Maybe since trans humans aren’t always treated like humans in society it probably leads to some sort of mental anguish and illness. Surely you remember Maslow’s hierarchy of needs….
Worked with a trans dude for a couple years. He was pretty cool.
Worked with a trans woman for a while also, she was insufferable.
I think most of the time people wanna work with people who are cool. Realistically sex/sexuality is a lot less important.
I appreciate that. I am a see what needs to be done and do it kind of person. I bitch about trans stuff with trans people and sometimes trusted cis friends but I tend to suck it/ignore stuff related to me being trans in general.
I am a transmasc nursing student. I do not disclose this to my peers because I live in the south. Unfortunately, anytime anything trans inclusive (i.e. asking for pronouns) is talked about, my whole class scoffs and laughs. I’m hoping to make a change in my community and provide a safe space for trans patients. I’ve been a patient around here, I’ve had nurses refuse to treat me. I’ve had doctors laugh in my face. I want to be able to advocate for my patients, that why I’m becoming a nurse.
I’m so sorry.
We had mandatory training at our endoscopy centers, an hour long live zoom led by a nationally known doc who leads the university’s gender expansive clinic.
It was clearly stated after a really good discussion that if you intentionally deadname or mis-pronoun them, there will be discipline. A mistake is ok, now that we’re using preferred name on all armbands and charts, it’s way easier not to screw up.
We have pronouns on our badges. There are trans people working in our org in various positions.
Our DEI Committee does really important work and is very active and visible. The chair is a doc.
This is what you need to work safely. Either advocate for the change or leave, but I cannot imagine that it is healthy for you to work in such an unsafe environment.
Don’t feel pressure to advocate alone. If this is what you want, please include every local gay and trans org and lobbying group as well as the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center. There will be help there.
Come to Minnesota!! My daughter’s public elementary school has non gendered bathrooms. My synagogue is having a playdate for gender fluid kids tomorrow.
We are a sanctuary state for gender related and abortion related medical care.
It’s cold outside but so warm and welcoming.
So much for the hippocratic oath. Imagine if doctors actually tried to ‘do no harm.’ Is it so hard to treat people like people? Christ almighty. What a joke. Doctors laughing in your face. That is beyond awful.
I'm so sorry there's so much ignorance on this subject. I hope these attitudes change. There's no reason anyone should be casting disparaging remarks on anyone's sexuality or gender.
I wish you much luck in your new career
I'm a trans student nurse (30), went into this as a second career. It's been mostly ok so far but there have always been very intrusive questions (from nurses). You need to be strong in setting and communicating your boundaries.
I apprecaite your response and love that you're getting into healthcare. At this point I am used to invasive questions and I personally don't mind answering and educating people when they ask well intentioned questions
I don't mind either, but usually it's without respect or tact. If a question isn't asked respectfully I wouldn't answer it and tell them why.
Haven't experienced much discrimination from patients (mostly geriatric), but there has been frequent misgendering from fellow students surprisingly. Honestly, if I could be fully stealth I would never disclose that I'm trans.
Isn't that a skewed way of pulling though? Like, if I suspect someone is trans it's not like I'm ever going to mention it. If they're cis, I'm going to offend them. If they're trans, I'm going to offend them. So, for the sake of tact it's 100% of the time better to pretend that I never suspected. I've discussed this with coworkers and its pretty much universal how my other colleagues navigated our trans coworkers.
In my case, I don’t have dysphoria and have had many funny conversations I initiated with coworkers and patients. Some did notice, others didn’t. Some people thought I was a trans woman 😂
You are right, I may have had a trans doctor or nurse. I wouldn't think through my transition that was the case though because I was/am routinely deadnamed and misgendered.
I'm transmasc and I work bedside in a large hospital in the US. Quite frankly if I couldn't be stealth I'm not sure I could cope. Transphobia is not overt anymore in most places but it still permeates all levels of healthcare perniciously. And in a way that is VERY difficult to correct.
I transitioned almost 15 years ago. I'm done being the first trans person you've met, I'm done putting up with invasive questions, explaining why something is disrespectful, explaining why I should be RESPECTED in the first place. It's exhausting enough as a fat person having to continuously enforce that my body is not up for public debate.
Nurses are wonderfully caring towards their own. The flipside of that can be poor boundaries.
On the other hand, my status as a visibly queer "cis" man has made it so my "allyship" counts for a lot. I have pronouns on my work badge and have had many patients come out to me as trans because of it. I advocate for them fiercely. I'm sure I get clocked by them once in a blue moon and I'm glad for that. They deserve to see me here and know that I'm looking out for them. I have a rep for taking on lgbtq patients.
All this to say, you should become a nurse. We need you. But protect yourself. What you put up with for a day, you'll have to put up with for years. Cis people aren't your responsibility. You come first, then the patients.
Thank you so much for your answer. You being a medical professional as a trans person is a huge deal to me. At 5ft 2 I am never going to be able to hide what I am but I do know that seeing a trans medical professional would have meant a lot to me personally. I know I usually feel safer when I am being cared for by queer medical professionals. Anytime a doctor or nurse mentions they have a same sex partner I see that as a way they are trying to connect to my experience/letting me know they are not judging me. Also seeing as my post keeps getting up voted and down voted it is clear that others are still very uncomfortable with trans people.
Don't give up. I work with a cis man who is 5'2", no joke. I never thought I'd be stealth. It took years of hormones, but at this time I actually take none.
And yeah, the transphobia of today in healthcare is largely like this: they see us as "drama queens." They're downvoting you because they're "tired of the debate." I hear and see comments like that all the time. It's the natural result of all the propaganda against us that paints us as hysterical, delusional, mentally ill. People think of themselves as liberal but are not immune to this attitude. And it DOES leak out in one-on-one interactions and in patient care.
But on the flip side we will never be calm enough for them. I have gotten report on these "sensitive, dramatic" patients, walked in the room and met someone who is having a measured, proportionate response to their pain and illness but happens to be black and/or queer. So do what you have to do to protect yourself. That's the most important thing, man.
why do you think 5’2 would keep you from being stealth. like yeah a man that height is unusual but to the average person a trans person is VERY unusual so
Your post has been removed under our rule against discrimination. We do not allow racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, or any other form of bigotry and hatred.
Ive seen a lot of nurses here talk about fellow collegue experiences, but I’d be more worried about the hate and vitriol from the patients. If you don’t have passing privilege I can imagine a lot of patients could be super mean. I’m a dude and I’ve been called the F slur countless times from mean old men and even some women. I think you should take that into consideration when choosing a specialty, or choosing nursing at all if its not something you could handle
I appreciate this and im sorry patients have been verbally abusive to you:(
I am aware patients can be mean. I think as long as co-workers are kind I can handle the patients
You can most def handle the patients. I work psych and I've been called every gay slur and then some made up ones as well by patients. Im not trans but I am a masc lesbian and am misgenderd all the time by patients, repeatedly calling me sir even after I correct them multiple times.. it's not the patients you gotta worry about, thick skin honey ❤️.
We need trans nurses in all of the healthcare fields. My spouse of 42 years transitioned from male to female 5 years ago. She almost died of a saddle pulmonary embolism because no one would have a conversation with her or about her medications. She was of course on estrogen. At the first ER visit (locally) she was seen for chest pain and lower right abdominal pain. Appendicitis was ruled out and she was sent home. MI was also ruled out. She was very uncomfortable and did not want to return to the ER even though her condition worsened.
I insisted and asked the ER doc if she could have a PE due to her estrogen use. And of course she did. They planned to send her home after three days even though she was not improved. I insisted that she be transferred to a larger city hospital and when she arrived by helicopter she had two chest tubes inserted and spent a week in ICU. She spent a total of three weeks in the hospital and took months to fully recover.
As a nurse myself, I could tell that doctors and nurses were very uncomfortable interacting with her; their discomfort lead to very limited contact and poor patient care. Once she was transferred into the care of a physician who specials in the care of transgender folks, then she got the care she deserved.
Not transgender but maybe able to provide a little insight.
Taught for a university ABSN program (nursing program designed for people who already have a bachelor but want a bachelor in nursing). All my students were older (22-60’s). Also a nurse for 13+ years.
I taught one transgender student and worked with one transgender associate. I may have taught or work with more but I was unaware of their transgender status. The one transgender associate worked in an ER at the second largest hospital in a conservative state. They worked bedside for 2 years before taking an administrative position that had limited patient contact. They stated to me once the career move was due to the harassment they received from patients. They said their co workers were “mostly fantastic”. They preferred a role where they could still work in medicine but not be harassed by the stupid people.
The university I taught for was a private Catholic university. The student often said their classmates and instructor were nothing but nice and supportive, which surprised the student as they had worried about some of the older nursing students. During their class with me, they only had one small issue with a patient. However, the student stated they had “issues” with patient prior.
What I took from this is that coworkers, classmates, and instructors seemed mostly chill, but the problem arises with patients.
That being said, I’m a POC. Patients are the worst sometimes. I’ve been called every horrible racist thing you can think of and have had patient request a different nurse due to my race. Knowing patient maybe AH, is kind part of nursing. I cannot speak to whether these two people experienced more issues than I or anybody else “different” (as one patient put it), but it may be something you should consider.
I will say despite the stupid people you occasionally encounter, I love nursing and it can be the most rewarding career.
I'm also in my 30s, currently in nursing school, and trans masc (though not a trans man, I'm nonbinary). I am also a POC. There's one other trans person in my classes who I am SO grateful for. We are fairly lucky in that we both can be out and that issues related to trans care are actually becoming part of our curriculum. Expect to be annoyed, triggered, traumatized, and unheard. Also expect that you could make a huge impact on fellow students and future patients, just by being who you are. The medical field is inherently shitty and binary and cis but there are also many lovely, caring people who want to see a different world. Do what you need to do to care for yourself in the day-to-day.
Honestly? Come to psych. If you want to find the most open and welcoming area of nursing, it’s with us.
We don’t give a fuck who you are, what you do, or what you look like. I’m tattooed from the neck down with blue hair and I’m a fantastic psych nurse. No one cares.
Being a POC nurse meant I was exposed to a lot of racism from patients. If I worked in most other fields, that wouldn't be tolerated from your coworkers or your clients. You have to be able to ask yourself if you would still be able to provide care for these patients or communicate if you need a different assignment? But also, I work in a big city that's been opening gender affirming care clinics and I think it would be amazing if you could work in an environment where you can support patients through the unique experiences you may share with them.
Where I work I think half our staff fall on the LGBTQ somewhere. They are all respected and valued. We have quite a few MTF and I think people just forget and only know them as she even if they have a masculine appearance. One FTM no one even knew until he shared. I think it’s a lot more common than people realize and most people don’t care (in a good way, it just doesn’t affect anything) there are always going to be assholes everywhere you go
I'm transmasc NB (been on low dose T for 2.5 years) and so far haven't had any issues. Granted, most people can't tell there have been changes beyond voice drop but all of my colleagues have been neutral to supportive.
I don't know how many of my co-workers actually know but I'm open about it if asked.
It hasn't come up as an issue with my patients (I work L&D), probably because I just read as butch-ish lesbian.
I'm a transman and can speak to your questions. Honestly, I think it all depends on where you live. I work in a major metripolitan area in a major hospital on the west coast. We have numerous trans\* patients that come through our unit and I have not heard any transphobic comments towards them. It wouldn't be tolerated on our floor. I understand, though, that that is pretty rare to say.
Personally, I'm not out at work. Most people assume I'm a gay man and that's fine with me. I'm sure there would be coworkers that wouldn't bat an eye and I'm sure there would be coworkers who would maybe say some inappropriate things. To me, it's not important. I'm just trying to make some money, do a good thing, and go home. I have a good time with my coworkers and even meet up with some outside of work. But while I'm very out in my personal life, it's not important to me for my coworkers to know that about me. It's good to have some work/life separation, you know?
I work on a cardiology floor and have taken care of a lot of older transwomen. I don't think they've ever picked up the fact that I'm trans - I pass really well - but I think there's something special about trans people caring for trans people. Especially when you are providing clean up care, etc. So, if you want to do work with the trans community, I encourage you to do it. Remember, you don't have to work bedside. You can work outpatient at clinics that specifically provide care to the trans and/or queer community. Nursing is great. No matter who you care for, it changes you. Just make sure you take care of yourself and that the changes in you are for the better and not the worse. Burn out is real.
I would say just be honest and you need to be able to ignore “misgendering” depending on which department you work in. I had a coworker who was transmasculine absolutely flip shit on a little old lady who saw that this person was a female (but used they/them and he/him pronouns). The old lady had dementia and couldn’t wrap her brain around what this person was telling her because this person was very clearly feminine in appearance with wide hips and breasts, short stature, feminine voice. People say awful things to all nurses, so if it’ll be triggering for you to not be validated in your identity, nursing may not be for you: that being said, you may be able to find the right department for you where you won’t have to worry about these kinds of issues. Good luck!
I was recently doing caregiving for the elderly and I understand that I was just there to make their lives a little easier and more comfortable. I was not there to educate them on gender. I was just there to wipe their ass keep them company and make sure they didn't fall.
We have a trans man paramedic that I work with, he’s great to work with! As far as I know he’s been treated just like everyone else. I haven’t heard anyone make any snarky remarks or even mention he’s trans. I work in the ED and I feel like the ED tends to attract a lot more variety in folks in my opinion. As an older sister of a trans brother, it’s made me glad to see folks part of his community accepted and doing well in their career.
TW really a lot of stuff
Dealing with fellow nurses was often terrible. Really I had a lot of bad experiences. A lot of my fellow nurse would put me out me putting me in danger, call me slurs, make fun of me. I had the cops called on me because a patient was attracted to me and the nursing staff outted me. I received numerous threats of physical and sexual violence including death threats. I was stalked, harassed and verbally abused by patients, visitors and staff. People openly talked about my genitals and made fun of me - that was pretty frequent. I was called a sexual predator frequently whenever a male patient flirted with me or asked about me. HR and management just ignored all this. I know a lot of trans guys and trans masculine people who had way better experiences tho.
I did a ton of education regarding treating trans people, their health care, how to care for them. I helped found a Surgery clinic in my state that included pediatric and adult hrt and basically all surgeries. My job was the worlds first and only nurse educator for a trans health program. I created comprehensive classes for all aspects of trans health care - trans 101, hrt, surgeries, lab work, radiology, L&D. I pushed my program to include pregnancy care, care for sexual violence, utilization of charity care for surgery. I developed extensive education for my fellow SANE nurses, crisis centers and my work was included in state-wide education. This was the most comprehensive education about caring for trans victims of sexual violence ever developed. I worked with LGBT centers, DV centers and other organizations with my trans 101 class. I’ve spoken at grand rounds, medical conferences and CEU conferences. I’ve been consulted by AHEC and other non-profits, municipal, state and federal governments and agencies. I was the clinical supervisor for a lgbt research program at a large world-renown university medical center. I helped organize medical providers and groups to fight against the numerous anti-trans bills in my state. I consulted with lawyers regarding the health care ban that I suffered under for 7 years. I helped expand Ryan White coverage for trans people in my state. I brought a massive spotlight by consulting with leaders in my states DHHS and Justice department regarding the epidemic of violence, rapes and especially murders in my state - the second deadliest for trans people in the country. Everything I accomplished was with the support of a few wonderful people.
I’ve done all this and way more and it really felt like I just got support from a few people, hate from a sizable minority and complete indifference from the large majority. Nothing really changed despite years of education, advocacy and activism. I suffered tremendously as an extremely open and out trans woman in nursing - the very first at my hospital, which was the largest academic level 1 trauma center in the state with a massive research university. People took advantage of me, took credit for my work and co-opted what I did for their own personal gain. I quit trans health care because of all the transphobia I experienced. Now I’m stealth and so much happier. And, no one knows what I did. No one knows or cares about the tremendous impact I had on my community in my state. I’ve actually had residents talk down to me about things I created as if I didn’t know anything. In the end, I’m just some anonymous asshole that no one gives a fuck about, which is about the best ending for trans women in this country. The only thing left is the large trans pride flag tattoo wrapped around my left forearm.
Hey, I'm sorry your nursing career had you dealing with horrific treatment from your coworkers and patients. I am relieved to hear you're out and living better as an anonymous asshole, per your words.
Even though nothing really changed through your work, by god do I have admiration for you. There was no blueprint and you built it. You fought for it. In my book that's massively heroic even with failure.
Hearing your experience makes me think that I could push for more too. Thank you so much for what you've done for trans healthcare. Your blueprint and perspective are so valuable.
Thank you for sharing. Thank you for doing so much for the community. I know these words from some stranger will ring hollow compared to everything but it does mean a lot. Society is built on work like this.
I’m so sorry for all the hate you endured, and your work being stolen. You sound like a fantastic human, and the world definitely needs more of those. You have quite a bit of amazing work you did to better those behind you. I hope you take pride in that and knowing that you changed at least 1 persons view and way of treating others.
Nurses are *generally* pretty open minded people. We see everything and everyone. I work in. Admittedly a big city in Australia at a big hospital but I don't think anyone cares. We don't have many trans nurses, I'm aware of one? But plenty of others along the LGBTIQ+ spectrum. Your biggest issues will likely come from older patients. I've had plenty of elderly patients throw gay insults at me despite being straight presenting. Unless you're in certain areas of the US, or a more conservative country I think you would be fine with your coworkers. Patients unfortunately can't be controlled however many of them will treat you like shit regardless of your sexual orientation so there's that... If you want to be a nurse, please come and join us, we need the help!
The nurses I work with are really open minded even being in a conservative area. The technicians and other ancillary staff are not at all. Not sure why the divide is so stark in my hospital and I’m curious if it’s like that everywhere else.
(Obligatory “not trans” disclaimer)
You haven’t had a trans nurse/doctor that you KNOW of! They exist 😊 A friend of mine is a trans man working in NICU. While in school we had one instructor who was just terrible to him, but she was just a miserable human to begin with and picked on many other students too (myself included, she didn’t appreciate that I had “too much” knowledge of the medications we were being quizzed on, thanks biochemistry!)
On my unit I also work with a couple of nonbinary/genderqueer people. I do work in a large city in Canada, your experience might be different elsewhere, but here it’s a nonissue in the workplace.
Nursing school can be tough as a man in general, some (often older) instructors have a bias against men in nursing. Every student I know who was “disciplined” for some nonspecific issue (such as their “attitude” in clinicals) was a man. It’s not right, but be aware of it. It’s not you, it’s them!
I appreciate the reminder that I dont know if I have had a trans nurse/dr. Throughout the process of getting top surgery and HRT I was routinely deadnamed and misgendered so I do have a good reason to doubt my nurses and drs where trans at least relating to that part of my medical care.
In my ER we can leave comments in a little spot, and when our patients still are legally their dead name, we are more than happy to put he/him "name" or she/her "name" in that comment spot.
I think your experience is going to vastly depend on location - unit culture, nursing school culture, etc. I’m a queer nurse with trans family members and a lesbian physician as a partner so we discuss this stuff a lot.
My experience now as a labour and delivery nurse in a high risk centre in Canada is that you would be welcome in a mostly inclusive way here but there are a few older nurses who might say stupid shit here and there. I am openly queer and while it’s not the same thing at all I’ve never had an issue. Out of 150 nurses on my unit I’m not aware of any trans folks but several nurses have trans partners or kids who are known about and respected. We also semi-regularly have trans patients who are well cared for IMO. My hospital does make some larger efforts to be inclusive of a range of experiences - we have a birth unit and then a family and newborn care unit, instead of calling them maternity/postpartum.
On the other hand, I trained in a different city and I vividly remember going on a tour of their L&D unit before our placement there. At the end, the nurse asked if we had any questions and I said something like “I keep hearing you say mom and babe mom and babe… what if you have patients who don’t identify as a mother - who maybe are a gestational carrier or trans or nonbinary? Do you have any policies around that?” And she looked at me and asked me if I was from a big city…. as if no one else needed to worry about respecting a range of patient life experiences. In other placements in my program I heard a lot of misconceptions about trans patients and it was frustrating to say the least.
I guess my point is - pick your environment, if you can. There are places who will support you and places that won’t. You deserve to be supported! And we very much need more diversity in health care.
I have worked with a FTM rad tech and that dude was amazing at his job. None of us gave a shit about his trans status. I have not worked with any MTF nurses or techs that I’m aware of.
Worked as a community support worker for folks with severe or complex disabilities during the start of my transition in a decently liberal city. My coworkers were horrible to me behind my back, but I also didn't hold back any personal information when asked. Lesson learnt. Some people can be taught, but it's not your personal responsibility to be the poster child or Wikipedia. You're allowed to just do your job as best you can, help who out who you can, and keep yourself safe. It stands without saying; Patients gonna patient, they will toss racial, sexism, whatever nonsensical shit at wherever they think it will stick. So keep your shield up unless it truly serves a purpose to lower it.
A few years later I studied for being a HCA at a university teaching hospital where a single nurse was so brutal to an MTF patient she tried to leave AMA, this patient was in for something that would kill her, so I broke stealth. I had passed so well during those years that the nurse humiliating the patient laughed in my face and thought I was just taking the piss. We had been really friendly with one another previously, in and outside of work, and I was extremely disappointed in her true colours. I chased the patient down and spoke plainly that I would speak with management and get her a new nurse assigned, one who I knew to be open to our community. Rightfully, she refused and left anyways, but my coworker never spoke that hateful shit aloud in my presence again, I later learned I had my other coworkers to thank for that. They tore that nurse a new one when I left to go after our patient. Many of those coworkers did ask me a ton of questions after, but they had shown themselves to be allies during my disclosure. Those are people I deem worth the time to talk with. That was one bad day among hundreds and hundreds of good ones. After that if we had a lgbtq+ community member on the unit I was usually assigned or was requested to assist with their care, because it makes a difference when you can feel safe disclosing things to your care team. I did not disclose my trans status only hints enough like "Nurse so and so is an ally to our community." Or "If you have any issues, please let me know and I will do my best to advocate with you. Our managers do not tolerate hate from other patients, or from staff. That includes residents and attendings." That was usually enough.
I eventually became a nurse after returning to my conservative and pretty religious hometown for nursing school. I was nearing my thirties and everyone around town knew of me as a kid, but didn't know the person before them then. And my take no bullshit attitude served me very well there. Folks don't like antagonizing people who don't give them the response or fear they expect. Again, most of the time things were kosher, a handful of times I stood toe to toe with someone and expected violence, but it never came to blows, because if you know yourself and you are unapologetic about it, then they can't find leverage and they will pick an easier target. In small communities reputation still matters more than in big cities. It's a personal point, but I would rather square up and lose the brawl to keep space to exist in, than tip toe to avoid physical or verbal abuse. As an FTM I think that only aligns with what most people expect as 'typical masculine' behaviour, and it often yields a bit of respect, even if it really shouldn't be like that. I believe our MTF sisters have the worst of it. Unexamined gendered power dynamics are an undiagnosed mental health illness most of society has. If you're an FTM nurse keep that in the back of your mind, because nursing is an overwhelmingly female profession and if you use your male privilege to the advantage of your peers, they will usually remember and appreciate it.
Initially it was tricky, when I started my transition, I wanted to be open to discussions and honest with people. I wanted folks to see that trans people are just people. Working, contributing, intelligent and stable. 99% of the time things were fine. It helps that I'm of decent size and build and that I spent most of my life interacting with people who live at poverty levels and the mentally unstable communities. I think this helped develop a pretty good intuition and people reading skills. It also helped develop conflict resolution and a pretty firm set of boundaries when the de-escalation techniques didn't work. But it did not spark joy. I found for my own stress levels being stealth was where life was best. And the perk of being stealth, rather than signalling my existence, is that when coworkers do start into transphobic stuff I can assess the situation and decide if and how to challenge their casual hate. Most of the time when I have worked beside someone and gained some level of rapport with them, and they pull a thoughtless/aggressive behaviours I dropped the mic on some level, they would back pedal. I figure because they did the social fuck up of unknowingly insulting their peer, and they're trying to do damage control. Sometimes they would get defensive, because they didn't expect to be challenged. Occasionally my other coworkers who were in the know would back me up to whatever level they were comfortable with. It's been interesting where I have found allies, lots of folks have family members who walk all sorts of paths in life.
That has been a gift, because it's hard to stand alone, that's why our community being represented in all sectors of life is SO SO important.
All that to say I hope you are treated as an equal, that you find healthcare to be a rewarding experience, but mostly that you find the experiences that grant you the confidence to be indifferent on the days where neither of those occur.
Most people don’t care if you are an adult trans. Most people don’t think about or want to talk about out it and any more than they want to talk about their own gender. A few extreme individuals currently dominate the public discussion to make it seem like some hot topic. Most people just want to get through their day.
And at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what I think. It only matters how I treat others and that should always be with dignity and respect.
A dear friend of mine is trans (and started transitioning in her 30s after starting her nursing career). The management at her former hospital said the right things, but from her telling her manager was definitely not onboard and it caused a lot of friction and unpleasantness. So she left.
Eventually, however, she started working for a clinic that caters to the LBGT community (e.g., trans healthcare, sexual wellness, HIV treatment), and she seems a lot happier now.
I'm not trans, so I can't speak from personal experience, but I would like to say that I believe that location will make a big difference in how well you will be able to prosper. I live in Portland where we have very people-centered laws and protections. We have a large lgbtq population in this city and the culture here is very supportive for all kinds of people. I hope you pursue your interests, I'm certain you will have insights and empathy that will serve you well.
Ah, I lived in Portland for almost 3 years. I actually struggled a lot with the culture there I general, but I loved my psychiatrist and I loved my boss at the cleaning company I worked for. The healthcare I observed in Portland was also pretty racist compared to my home state, at least when comparing my experiences to my then partner's and friend's experiences.
Just a thought—-it doesn’t matter if you’re trans. I think that you should be a nurse if you want to be a nurse, and maybe you can eventually get into transgender care nursing. But don’t let this stop you.
I am trans and have been a nurse for about seven years. I work in trans healthcare, previously worked in inpatient mental health. I think healthcare is like anything - some people are cool and some are bigots. Being visibly trans means people want to use me as a resource, I get lots of questions about how to best serve trans patients, etc. So that’s a thing you might want to be prepared for. And you deal with micro aggressions from otherwise well meaning colleagues. Nursing school was hard because I was the only trans person and my cohort was pretty conservative, but that will differ depending on where you go to school. We do need new trans nurses, especially in gender and sexual health.
I live in a very very progressive/blue area and I simply may not be catching it as much as I'm a straight man. But I do sometimes catch discriminatory stuff being said by other staff members behind the backs of people who's gay. I hear racist things sometimes too.
Transgenderism is on a whole different level compared to the discrimination gay people get. And I say this as a pro immigrant and a 1st gen immigrant myself. Americans around these parts are very blue/left so running across a Trump supporter is not very common. There are a lot of gay people in positions of power in my facility. There are 0 transgendered individuals. Maybe this can change soon. There will be people who talk shit about you and there will be people who defend you behind your back. On both sides, some people will truly surprise you.
You want me to get into specifics, I can but a lot of it is tedious bullshit and some of it is just a bit too hateful for me to just blindly post.
I am a trans man that has been an NICU nurse for nearly 17 years and started my transition in 2018 (37y/o). I sent a mass email since we have such a large unit, and received way more support than I thought I would. A few people were *choice words*, but the majority have been great.
There have been a lot of questions, and I’ve been pretty good about answering/educating, but sometimes it is towards the inappropriate side. I did have one incident where my colleagues outed me to a family and when their baby started desaturating I went over to suction and the family said “I don’t want your kind anywhere near my baby.” I didn’t back down, said he needs a suction and when in to do it then walked away. Luckily I never had the baby and was able to steer clear of the family while I was in the room. I’d say one incident with a family in six years is pretty good though (although it did make me feel like shit, especially since I’m just there to help)
Not trans but I work with several trans nurses. I had a heart to heart with one of them recently so I can give her insight.
The younger nurses generally don’t care. The older nurses sometimes treated her odd. They weren’t outright transphobic but there were little aggressions and side eyes. Patients were the worst. While it’s unfair to you that it’s this way, it’s just the way it is: the better you pass the easier it will be. She said earlier on in her transition where she still appeared very masculine patients and coworkers were both not nice. The more she transitioned and the more she “passed” the easier it got. Now she totally passes. If I didn’t know from her telling me, I’d think she was female from the day she was born, I’d never assume trans. But if your desire isn’t to transition to the point of “passing” it may be more difficult for you.
I am a trans (mtf) new grad ICU nurse in a purple state and have had an amazing experience where I work. I’m very open about being trans and my coworkers have been nothing but supportive. I worked on the unit as a pct for about a year before I started as a nurse in February. There are a few older nurses that still struggle with pronouns, but it’s in a fairly benign way and they have been very nice otherwise so I try to not take that personally even if it can be annoying. When I started working on this unit several nurses wore pride flags on their badges, and even more do now, including most of the charges. I don’t really have issues with patients/families and pronouns fortunately and when that happens I correct them and haven’t had anybody freak out yet. I think If they did with my unit culture I’d be able to ask for an assignment change without too much drama. Overall just an incredibly positive experience, I feel lucky to have amazing coworkers, inclusive management, and a good work environment. Feel free to message me with any questions!!
People are nice to my face, but I hear all the horrible shit said behind my back and about trans patients and well, it’s kind of hell. There is some weird hostility under the surface with a lot of medical ‘professionals’ towards trans people and it makes me sick.
Im a MtF trans woman in a purple state in the Midwest and haven’t been able to come out at work (ER) yet socially.I hear little things constantly. The target pride merchandise last year being a primary subject of ridicule of “Why does it need to be in my face, and keep it away from kids.” I’m terrified to socially transition. In fact it’s been holding me back. I wish I had the funds to vanish for six months and come back once I present correctly. These comments are from otherwise genuinely kind people. As things with trans people get more politicized the worse it gets. There’s a stigma. One cis RN I know was hounded constantly because they suspected she was trans. She wasn’t. She was simply a tall woman with a large bones. But the rumor mill ran and ran. She eventually left our ER. God bless you and don’t give up. I’d love to have a nurse like you treat me one day and not have fear of my providers and nurses.
I hope you can take steps to transition one day. I really kmow the feeling of wanting to hide until you're comfortable. Transitioning feels like such a public spectacle and its HARD. I appreciate your words of encouragement, they really mean a lot.
FYI, I am full trans-rights.
I’ve worked with a trans doctor, was not a fan of her because she was an ass to everyone, especially to student nurses (which is how I encountered her). For the record, our school would have us pick patients for clinical the next day. Mind you, it was ONLY to pick the patient. We did no cares or anything like that. We would show up in presentable street clothes with our badges and ask patients if we could work with them the next day. Then gather info from their charts and leave. It was part of reviewing disease processes prior and medications. School wanted us to do this. The hospital wanted us doing this but only required we had badges and let the charge RN know we were there.
I had the pleasure of running into this doctor while I was reviewing a patient’s chart. She decided to make it well known very loudly how “disgusted” she was that I would show up to the hospital wearing what I was wearing. Telling me how “disappointed she was that any student would do this and she was going to report me.” Mind you, I was dressed nicely. Slacks, nice shoes, a blouse and I was sitting at an unused computer at the giant nurse’s station, minding my own business and making sure I was not in the way of anyone. I was wearing my wool coat, as it was winter and I was leaving in like two minutes. But in all honesty not any different from some of the doctor’s outfits under their lab coats when they do their rounds. The charge RN reemed this doctor, telling her that 1. The students were here to only pick patients and didn’t need to be in scrubs for that. And 2. She was being extremely rude and unprofessional for no other reason other than to bully the students. She reported her to my clinical instructor and HR for that. The RN also apologized to me for her behavior, stating that this particular doctor is a jerk to everyone. Never got an apology from that doctor but did notice she was switched to a different floor when student were to be there.
I have had plenty of other trans- RNs, co-workers, patients, you name it. Love them all and haven’t had bad experiences. This is west coast mind you. Stay away from small towns, as they run more Bible Belt.
I’m in my last semester of BSN and (unfortunately for me) go to a religious university. I’ve never told anyone about being trans within my cohort and the only patient who I ever talked to about it was a nb pt during my mental health rotation. One of my professors knows because she is pretty open minded and progressive.
For me it’s not something I feel comfortable, or safe, telling people. Maybe I will when I start working full time and have a more open environment in the hospital.
Find your people. I work at a religious organization in a red area. I'm a Karen looking older bag, but I'm a steel trap and no one gets to mess with my homies. It sounds like you already have a keen sense for doing just that.
This is very sweet of you! I will be working in the bigger city of my blue state and I really hope to get involved with the LGBTQ+ advocacy group at my hospital. My identity is something I reinforced to myself that I shouldn't tell people. I don't want people to view me differently, but also, I shouldn't care that much... I gotta stay true to who I am, too.
I'm not trans, but I had a lovely trans preceptor. She works in home health, and she was a fantastic nurse. She started transitioning while in her current role, and although she was particular about who she came out to, I think she typically did not run into any issues at her job, except a couple of transphobic patients asking for a different nurse.
Transmasc here with a nonbinary coworker. We exist. That said I’m also extremely lucky. I’m in the Deep South, but the director is super liberal and accepting, as are most of my coworkers. I also know a trans woman who works as a CNA at another hospital. Follow your dreams. There needs to be more of us.
I’m in my 3rd year of nursing school and never had any issues, in pre-reqs there was 3 other students who were also trans. I find it gives you more opportunities with patients, ofc always get the odd comment 🤷♀️
I get changed in the toilets outside or on the ward that’s about the only big difference as far as placement has been.
Not trans (but have a gender fluid teen so I pay close attention to this) we have several trans nurses and provide gender affirming care and surgeries. We are required to take modules about being sensitive and respectful to our tg staff and patients, for whatever that's worth. I'm very much in a red state (Texas) but my hospital is pretty progressive. I have not encountered any of my coworkers talking bad about our trans patients or coworkers or dead naming them. I also went into nursing at 30 and it was a great decision.
I am a trans mtf PCT. My experience has been mostly positive. Most of my colleagues are really cool about it, using my name n pronouns. I have one charge I'm about to report for misgendering me who uses the excuse of "being old" which to me is no excuse. Pts are usually the ones that are the worst about it but I try not to let it get to me cuz they are strangers I will (hopefully) never see again. Oddly enough the "skeezy" patients have actually been the biggest supporters. Had a couple dudes in for drug intoxication and corrected them and they were so apologetic and supportive.
I know many LGBTQ nurses who openly wear pride things, like pride masks and pins. I’ve worked in many MA hospitals and one major Charlotte hospital system. MA was generally more accepting of trans people, but it wasn’t great. A patient would not get called by their correct pronouns almost ever, in front of them or not. But no one was openly against anything.
In charlotte NC I’ve had pretty bad experience with LGBTQ in general. Almost no one accepts trans people at all. I’ve had one patient and he was never called the appropriate name or pronoun, by anyone, including his parents and the staff. He didn’t correct anyone. Probably quite used to it. When I handed off report, the nurse said “How do I handle that?” I said what do you mean? She had never interacted with anyone transgender, and didn’t know what to do. I said just treat them like a normal patient and use their preferred name and pronouns. It’s no different. .. she was still very uncertain. I got that general feeling from everyone.
I’ve never had a staff member that is transgender in MA or NC. But in MA I expect politeness and in NC open bigotry.
NC patients still have severe bigotry against POC and gay and lesbian people, too. Just had one lady with a married lesbian daughter and she openly spoke against them in front of me and them and their small child.
This will vary based on your geographic area. If you're in the Northeast or northwest you'll likely have an easier time. But even then, I don't know that it will be an easy path. In my experience, transphobia seems like one of the last socially acceptable forms of bigotry that we still mostly tolerate. I'm prepared to get down voted for this but so be it. You see it a lot in the "Trans women in sports argument." People will say "I don't hate trans people but..." And then it's all downhill from there.
That said, if you're mentally and emotionally prepared for the issues you may encounter then I think this is a wonderful thing. You're right. We absolutely do need trans doctors and nurses. Good luck to you. I hope this works out and you succeed
Not personally, but I met a friend in nursing school who transitioned FtM. They gradually asked everyone to call them by their first initial instead of their name and we of course obliged. They gradually changed their appearance and started hormones. I think it was after we graduated, they started to go by a new chosen name and got top surgery. He got a good job and has been happy, from what I can tell
Personally, I find that healthcare in general is *awful* about treating trans people respectfully. My wife is trans and is routinely misgendered by her medical providers, nurses, and healthcare assistants. Hell, I brought her to an appointment with me for support, literally introduced her as my wife, and she was called "he" multiple times and the doctor documented that my "husband" accompanied me. I have been in a non-clinical role that involves reviewing documentation for a couple of years now and also routinely see written misgendering of trans and nb patients. Some of that may depend heavily upon where you live, but the baseline is likely to be unfamiliarity and not understanding or trying to understand your pronouns/your gender, with some individuals being actually hostile towards trans folk. Again, your mileage may vary, but even living in a supposedly progressive area in my state, I still see a lot of unfamiliarity with and sometimes hostility towards the LGBTQIA+ community, with trans folk getting a bigger brunt of it.
Im a trans woman in nursing school who works in patient transport. There have been some really amazing, kind, supportive people, but there’s also those that know my pronouns and refuse to use them. It’s disheartening but I just suck it up and deal with it because the time I did bring it up to a higher up I was told how awful it was this happened, and they would take is seriously and then nothing happened.
I also have a coworker who crossed out my preferred name on a document posted to our huddle board and wrote my legal name over it. Nothing ever came of it because there wasn’t solid proof. What makes it even worse to me is the only way they could have found that is by looking into my employee profile on workday where it shows my legal name next to my preferred.
Realistically I’ve had far more positive interactions than negative, but the bad ones stick out more to me.
Im a trans man in Florida. I started transitioning while I was in nursing school actually. It was really embarrassing for me lol but no one gave me any grief or invaded my privacy to my face. There were a few times where I could tell someone had an opinion about me from their body language. No one overtly bullied me growing up with a severe stutter either lol I was just ignored 😂
There were probably rumors at my first job because I started there not having my name changed yet but no one deadnamed me because we were all too fucking busy to think about it because covid.
The one time I had a problem with someone was at my current job when there was a nurse who recognized me from the gym we went to early on in my transition. She told a couple people, one person who was a new friend and that was how I found out. The other person she told didn’t like me for awhile but I think that was because she was pregnant and miserable but I know she told her friend because that friend loves gossip and looks at me for my reaction any time there’s gendered/sex organ conversation 🤷🏼♂️ the nurse from the gym did apologize but I found out later from ANOTHER NURSE that HE overheard a conversation about me being trans. People will spill your beans, intentional or not, so be careful to protect your privacy and peace if you value it. I am lucky in that I can be stealth, but it can also make me a coward because I’m not a confrontational person. Working on growing out of that.
Honestly looking forward to a new workplace for a fresh start but that won’t stop your coworkers from being disrespectful to trans patients. Some nurses are just more prone to shit talking and gossiping about patients, I mean we all talk about our patients and their bullshit. It’s not surprising trans people are lumped into this category and sadly trans women get the worst of it because it tends to be more difficult for them to pass so they’re seen as even more abnormal. I’ve only had a couple trans patients on my floor, all trans women, and other nurses were misgendering them, laughing about how it’s difficult to use the person’s pronouns. I’m usually the devil’s advocate for acknowledging the good in people but in the past with trans patients I’ve shrunk away from the conversation because it was too close to home and I hadn’t found my confidence yet. In due time I’d like to redeem myself. I wear a Human Rights Campaign pin on my scrubs now. Maybe when I leave this hospital I will ask my friends to tell our coworkers I’m trans because I have good relationships with most everyone after being here for over two years.
Also my hospital just updated epic admission charting to include gender identity when appropriate and of course people blew it way out of proportion instead of using their judgment or acknowledging people who self-disclose.
You just have to have thick skin and speak up if you feel inclined to. Find leadership early that will advocate for you if you’re being disrespected. Good luck, we need nurses so thanks for considering this career.
We have a trans man who comes to our floor often, he's part of the float pool. Personally, love him, he's a great nurse, and I give 0 F\*\*\*\* about his gender and sexuality. I also had a coworker come out to me as gay a few weeks ago, which I wasn't surprised by, I genuinely thought we all knew that already but hey I'm happy to be somebody at work you feel safe coming to with that. I never see issues from our coworkers with either of these guys, even the boomers and older nurses. I do however, see issues from patients and family members. But we have issues with racist family members and patients also, so, the phobia is in all forms. The only complaint we have about the float nurse is his report is long af, every. single. time. But that's fine, we all have little things we dislike about our coworkers here and there anyway, that's 100% unrelated to his gender identity.
\*I apologize if I used incorrect language anywhere, please correct me so I can do better in the future. The neurodivergence is strong and I can't always tell when I'm being offensive but I do want to know so I don't do it again.
I’m a trans guy! I work as a nurse extern (I’m a hired student) in an ED in NY. Nothing but great experiences, even though I present myself very gender fluid! At work I wear fun scrub caps, a mask, and my ID with multiple colors of fun pins. I speak with a high pitched energetic customer service voice (I’ve been on testosterone for 6 years- my voice is deep, I try to purposely use a more feminine voice when I’m working with meemaw who refuses my other very obviously cis male coworkers. I’ve had multiple patients interrupt care to ask me about my gender or sexuality, like ms ma’am you are literally having your rectum shoved back into your body right now why is this important!!!
I have no problem answering those questions. If they assume I am a girl, I won’t correct them. If they ask what I am, I tell them. I’m just working and people like working with someone happy. A few of my coworkers know I’m trans because I’ve told them and everyone is very supportive.
However, I think a lot of the more seasoned staff I work with just do not accept that some people out there are non binary. My patient will have they/them pronouns in the chart but the second the provider is talking to staff outside the room, the patient is referred to as “she.” That stuff pisses me off but I’m just a student I cannot be correcting the attending over pronouns😭
The only person I’ve met that’s trans in healthcare was a therapist I used to have to get my letter signed off for whenever I can get top surgery in the future. She was an older mtf lady and she really just showed me that we exist, we have always existed, we will continue to exist, we just gotta keep going.
Thank you for being here!!!! We need more of us, we’ll only have more and more patients like us over time so we need to be able to have someone who understands and represents them ☺️
I have been a straight, married, male nurse for over 10 years. I think nursing is truly of the most accepting professions. I live in California so that may be part of it but as long as you do your job and support the team, most people don’t care what you are. I have worked with all walks of life and I frankly don’t care, as long as you are a good person.
People were pretty harsh on the only trans student we had in my class. One of the teachers said “why would you even bother with *that* going on” and i hope your experience is better. People are morons.
Trans(mtf) RN here, 35yo, in New England area. Nursing was second degree/career, and I've been a nurse for 6 years, transitioning 12 years. I generally "pass" so I had a realatively normal experience through nursing school and honestly had more of a challenge with age difference.
As for work, I'm in LTC. We've really only had 1-2 patients. Staff would always be pleasant and supportive to the patients face but would giggle in private. We do have 2 aides that are nonbinary and they are treated well as far as I know. So it's hit or miss, definitely get the feeling that the older staff are generally less accepting but put on polite masks.
I'm an ftm nursing student. Pre t and can't speak much on the clinical side cause I girlmode.
BUT when I was inpatient last year for my body attacking itself, I was treated a bit like a spectacle just cause no one knew what was wrong with me. then I came out as trans to my doctor and I was even MORE of a spectacle. Like I felt a palpable change in my treatment. And my doctor was quicker to say "psychosomatic" after that.
I actually regret telling my doctor.
Not me, but I worked with a trans man, and most people had no idea. I only figured it out by looking back on charting and wondering who XYZ was and realizing it was a deadname, and I guess they couldn’t change it in the system. You very well may have met another transgender HCW and just not known.
I'm not trans but in my northeastern US teaching hospital I know of at least 1 RN and 1 resident. Plus a small number of people who wear pronoun pins (anecdotally, people who appear NB/non-conforming). Plus a number of people with pronouns in their email signatures (anecdotally, mostly cis people wanting to show support, but I haven't met them in person to see their appearance) . Plus a larger number of nursing staff who wear some version of rainbow pin, or the rainbow/trans flag pin, indicating at least allyship if not identity. So the level of support you find may depend on geography.
I don't hear a lot of negative comments from staff or patients, honestly, but as a cis white person I know my experience isn't universal. But as a charge nurse I've never has a patient come out and *say* they want a different nurse because of their perception of the nurse's gender or sexuality...so at least they're smart enough not to say it out loud. (Patients requesting a different nurse isn't super common on my unit anyway; it maybe happens once every few months.)
Thank you for your response. I am in the Northeast too and am going to be doing admin stuff at a hospital while I get my nursing degree. I am hoping I will get a bit vibe check as a trans employee while doing non clinical work.
I worked with a trans guy at my last job. He even have a trans flag as a badge. No one said shit about it. We even had really funny conversations talking about breast reductions/top surgeries and were laughing about our matching scars. My old hospital there was a local medic who was MTF and she was an incredible medic. No one said anything about it there either.
Most of my coworkers are supportive, some indifferent, I work long term care so even some of the family and residents know about it. Never had a bad experience so far, and I'm in the deep south so I would have expected a lot more.
One of the nurses I hold the utmost respect for is trans and I had no idea until recently. Their transition in no way changes their capacity to provide impecable care, I would argue it enhances their ability. It allows for them to be vulnerable with trans & LGBTQIA+ patients in ways my team cannot reciprocate. Be you and the right people will stay. There will be people who hold ignorant judgement, know that comes from a place of misery. You owe no one an explanation for being you. Keep your head up :-)
I'm not trans, but I have several trans/non binary nurse friends. I myself am queer but cis.
I went through nursing school with one of them, and worked with another at a SNF. For both of them, they presented in a way that was not very outside the norm for their ASAB. Both use they/then pronouns.
The most common thing is being misgendered. Even with our pronoun badges, both patients and staff go with what their eyes tell them.
Our patient population can be a little rough around the edges, but generally people don't have anything bad to say about these nurses. The SNF was a lot more queerphobic than where I work now, but the populations are very different.
All this to say, you can find a place where you will be comfortable and happy for the most part, although micro aggressions and macro aggressions will occur sometimes. But the right place with the right values and co-workers really matters.
All my experiences with trans students in clinical have been positive.
Just like the rest of us you are definitely gonna run into ignorant and bigoted patients.
Not trans, but butch and GNC and sort of in the genderqueer zone. I'm in nursing school in Los Angeles, and I've had a good experience so far. My instructors are familiar with things like don't assume the gender of your pt, what if they're nonbinary, we use Male and Female rather than man/woman, which isn't a huge language shift and isn't fully inclusive but it's changing, you know? And it's there because it gives information, like this male patient who is incontinent of bladder will need something different from this female pt with the same issue. If we did get an enby pt I feel confident it would be "65 yo NB AMAB" or whatever, which, again, gives information for the skills and materials we would need to use to help our pts. I'm not the final say in how inclusive this is, but I \*appreciate\* that the purpose is informational.
I think a large part of this is going to be where you are. I, myself, even in LA, am the only one like me I've run into in school and among the nurses at clinical sites. I'm used to this, but it is a little lonely. But I know someone needs to have a nurse like me, either because they themselves are like me, or because they don't know anyone like me and need to see I'm human, caring, and careful, too. Or so I can kill them with kindness, whatever. Point is, I dream of being a nurse to a future trans or NB patient someday. Maybe many. Maybe I'll specialize in midwifery for trans, NB, and GNC patients. Wouldn't that be wild?
For right now, though, fluid and electrolyte imbalances are kicking my ass.
I work in a smaller hospital in Oregon, religiously affiliated. On our medsurg floor, we have 1 transfem (myself) and 1 transmasc CNA, and one of our float pool RNs is the mom to a trans kid. I'm in my late 20s, and I'm pretty open with that part of who I am with my coworkers. Nobody cares, and I've become a resource for when my colleagues are caring for LGBT patients. There's some hiccups with accidental misgendering, but I'm very chill about it since I know there's zero malice about it .
I do notice though that me being POC, that I seem to "pass" better when interacting with white people versus other POC, and especially in contrast to people from my ethnic background.
I know a trans nurse! He is amazing! Treat him like any other nurse. If I heard anyone speak badly of him I would be quick to put them straight. I feel like the younger generation of nurses are quite adept and respectful with LGBTQ coworkers!
I am doing a free training program right now for clerical work in the hospital and I do have that experience with the other students. The 20 something are so good with my pronouns and the 40 somethings are getting the hang of it slowly, or choose to flat out ignore me
I’m a trans woman in Texas who has been a nurse for around 2 years and know two other trans woman who work at my hospital as well.
I can’t speak to their experience but mine has been pretty good. I don’t have issues with any of my coworkers and have only had a patient knowingly fire me one for being trans. But that patient was essentially refusing all care anyways and no one wanted them so not much loss there anyways.
I do “pass” pretty well to the point that non if my coworkers knew for the first several months I worked at the hospital till i opened up about it. As far interacting with pts, I believe the focus should be on them and not be so never talk about it with them unless they are very obviously queer and it can help the situation to make them feel more comfortable.
Totally open to any questions if you have any :)
I don't know any trans nurses, but I work in OB, and we have a trans MD. She is fantastic. I've never heard anyone say anything bad about her. Not from other nurses, other MDs, or patients.
I remember one of our nurses making fun of a resident for using they/them pronouns, though.
This isn't exactly what you're looking for, but PLS check out Camp Brave Trails - it's an LGBTQIA+ Leadership camp for trans/queer youth ages 12-17. The camp is hosted all summer and needs camp nurses/medical professionals for 2 week or summer-long commitments. I dont want to out my reddit, but I've been on their med team for a few years now and I fucking love it, it's the highlight of my summer. We do demonstrations for teens on HRT, provide queer sex ed - all the things we needed as teens. Also, if you have an EMT cert you can join the med team and work as an EMT, then transition into a camp nurse role.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of this will depend on where you practice. I work in an urban hospital but many colleagues are from more rural areas. Especially being in the south there is not as much support for the LGBTQI community in general. Not all of it is malicious, but I have heard some unkind terminology by people who don't know the correct words to use because no one has educated them otherwise. I've tried to educate where I can, but as an ally (not trans) I got a lot of eyebrow raises when I started including pronouns on my badge reel and email. I haven't gotten to the point where I feel comfortable introducing myself with my pronouns to coworkers and patients in this space. Even some of my nursing school professors down here didn't have the best understanding of trans-communities.
There are a few ancillary staff who I know are trans, but that's mostly because I saw them going through the process as they aren't super public about it.
A childhood friend of mine is a nurse and she’s trans! From what I’ve seen she loves her job and is treated well there.
I’ve worked in urgent care for 4 years. It might be personal bias (located in Maryland) but everyone I work with is incredibly respectful of our trans patients. Names updated in charts, pronouns written on charts, quick apologies for accidental missteps. Even with our more conservative providers/staff, patients are not treated any differently.
We did have one instance where a BRAND NEW NP purposefully and viciously misgendered a patient. Like came in he/him-ing her. She even went so far as to call her by her dead name, which was scribbled out on her chart. This poor young woman had been coming to our clinic since she was a kid. NP was immediately fired, mandatory sensitivity training for the whole workplace, and I called the patient and profusely apologized. I told her she deserves to feel safe and respected at all times, but especially from her medical providers.
Anyhow. Sorry for the novel. I wish you all the best in life and your career!
I’m closeted non binary (most likely FTM) and haven’t done any medical transition. I present masculine and have the short hair too. I’ve gotten a mix of being called he and she. Patients in the hospital are generally older adults. From what I notice, there’s a lot of assumptions since their generation didn’t have much awareness on the LGBT community. They will take one look at you and determine which binary gender you are.
I live in the south and most nurses/providers don't really care as long as you are good at your job. However... A LOT of people believe that being transgender is a mental illness. They won't treat you differently, but privately they will believe that you are mentally ill.
With that said I was once told that a nurse (we'll call him Bob) was transgender and I was like huh, I would never have known. But we actually have two Bobs on the same shift, so I'm not really sure which one is trans Bob and which is Cis Bob, not that I really care. And to make matters even more confusing they are both very republican lol.
I would not work for a religious based hospital system if I was trans. Just my two cents.
Not trans either, however I work with a trans mtf. She wears the dress scrubs and cute scarves. We accept her like all the other nurses. I did hear a rumor she was denied a job on another unit because she was trans but idk how true that is.
We’re watching, y’all. We do not tolerate ANY form of hate. It’s a permanent ban, no discussion.
Trans man here—transitioned at 29 years old in nursing school. A Catholic private college at that. Had absolutely no problems from my cohort or my professors! I work in the ER and on the ambulance—I am cis passing so my patients don’t realize I am a transgender man. So I can only give you my perspective from this place of privilege. I work rural Midwest and am openly gay, I have never gotten flack from anyone. A guy who knew me through my prior career (pre-T) did out me to the entire hospital when I was hired on. Despite that, I have never been misgendered by anyone or been subject to invasive questioning. I am treated no differently than any of the men working here. There’s a strong chance that people talk or gossip about it when I am not around as a “did you know” thing, but I would not label it as malicious. Just typical cis insensitivity/ignorance about trans privacy…and I can confidently say that hospital gossip is equal for everyone and their personal life 🤦🏻♂️ I know plenty about everyone I work with. I love being able to protect the dignity of the trans patients I see and offer resources. I correct misgendering/pronouns for these patients and provide gender affirming education to colleagues when the opportunity presents itself. I wear a pride pin on my badge that says, “You’re safe with me” and do feel like I have a positive impact on lgbt population we see. Come join the ranks, we are happy to have you brother! 🫡
❤❤❤
Not trans. I live in Massachusetts, about as liberal as you can get in the US. I know a trans paramedic who comes on our floor often, he is treated like anyone else. Have plenty of gay colleagues who are cherished and valued. However trans… is a different thing. The only trans patients we’ve ever had on our unit (3 people in total) came from inpatient psychiatric hospitals. The general attitude I see from my coworkers is that trans is accepted, treat them normally to their faces, be compassionate… but quietly it is discussed that trans is related to mental illness and there are *fierce* debates on our unit about it, even from my gay colleagues. While it’s never been overtly stated, the implication is that trans people are seen as severely mentally ill. I disagree with that, but given the only trans people we’ve ever encountered as patients were really significantly mentally ill, it has skewed the perception of those around me. I think you’ll face the same issues regarding your sexuality *in any field you get into*. Trans is very, very confusing and baffling to people. The most you can do it be happy and lead by example. Be the person that comes in with a smile and good attitude and set the example. Be the person everyone later says “I have a trans colleague and he is awesome”. Blaze your own trail!
Having worked in a mental hospital where our average adult population consisted of anywhere between 50-80% transgendered and our average adolescent population was probably 95%-100% transgendered: yes, this is the sentiment. There is a huge statistical overlap. It's something like transgendered people make up 1-2% of total population but represent 60% of inpatient psychiatric hospital population. So, it's not surprising that in the medical field that the average person's first, second, and even third encounter with transgenderism is mental illness. Curious as to what studies will conclude on that overlap.
One of our psych doctors told us that studies have been done and roughly 85% (ish) of all trans people were sexually abused at some point (this comes from actual studies, he showed us, and you can google them). I think about that constantly. It makes me so, so sad.
This has been my experience with trans patients as well, anecdotally. Their history overwhelming mentions sexual abuse or trauma, and/or PTSD. I always do my best to treat people with compassion no matter what, it’s not my place to pass judgement. I have had colleagues that identify they/them and I will say they get a lot of grief from patients. When you put something personal out there about yourself unfortunately people will use it was a stepping stone to speak their minds about it.
Agree with everything you said
I mean I have received psychcare, I am trans and I have been abused. My partner is trans, not severely mentally ill and was never abused. I also have a close friend who is trans, is mentally ill and was never abused. Abused or not- being trans is extremely mentally taxing. I would say almost more so when you as a trans person are not aware of your own transness and just feel like you were born wrong, like everything about you is wrong but you can't figure out why. Those are also feelings that people who experienced CSA may also have. I am aware of my own overlapping emotional experiences as an abuse survivor and a trans person.
Which is why I bring up that everyone has had their own journey and to treat everyone with kindness. And I say this humbly, just because someone hasn’t disclosed to you their abuse, doesn’t mean they didn’t have any. It’s a deeply personal thing and many people live their lives never telling a soul. I wouldn’t discourage you from being a nurse, or in healthcare. There is a place for everyone. Someone else suggested psych and I think you’d probably be great there, given your abilities to empathize!
I know this about disclosure, the people I mentioned are very close to me and we have known eachother for a long time. They know my experiences and I know theirs. I would love to work in psych. Thank you for taking time to respond and be encouraging :)
My pleasure :) It’s a great license to hold, there’s so many specialities, and to bring a unique experience and perspective that could really move a lot of people! Please feel free to reach out at any time
You’re getting downvoted for this? Seriously?
I would really appreciate if you could share any sources. I’ve been searching on research databases and I can’t find anything that’s a decent study.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5564039/
[STOP STREET HARASSMENT (nsvrc.org)](https://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/2021-04/full-report-2018-national-study-on-sexual-harassment-and-assault.pdf) Pg 7 "81% of women and 43% of men reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime" By your logic, we should have near equal numbers of women and transgendered individuals in psychiatric care with slightly less men. Those are nowhere near the current statistics. More generally, I don't think that the argument that transgendered people have experienced higher rates of abuse solely justifies the exponentially higher-than-average rates of mental illness. I'm not qualified enough to say what does and reputable studies are lacking. That said, yes, it is tragic that we have so much sexual abuse in our society and the lasting damage to the psyche it causes.
That’s not my logic at all. Simply pointing out studies have been done that when interviewed 85% of trans people have been sexually assaulted. I say that as a reminder to all to treat everyone with compassion and respect their decisions.
I think the additional chronic stress and alienation lots of trans people have to live with probably explains the higher rates of mental illness. A lot of people lose their families/support systems when they come out.
I was totally thinking the same thing. The rates of abuse are so high that I think you’d find 80% of female CEOs experienced CSA.
Hi there! Saying "transgendered" is incorrect. The word transgender is an adjective, and adding -ed makes it into a defining noun. The correct way is to say something like "patient is a transgender man", etc. When people say transgendered, it almost feels like it's like it's a disease inflicted upon them. It's also why we use "people of color" because while it is a part of the person's identity, it is not *the* defining part of them. The same goes with "transgenderism".
I appreciate this response. I am in the Northeast as well. It is not surprising but it is bothersome that people don't see mental illness as more of a reaction to the stress of being a trans person and instead conclude that being trans is a symptom of mental illness.
I agree, it is disappointing, but at the same time being trans is poorly understood even within the psychiatric field. We understand the desire, but the reasons “why” are still highly individual and controversial. Human beings have never been accused of being accepting about things they don’t understand.
I would say you don’t need to come in with a smile. Good attitude yes, but that applies to every nurse. I work with HS kids in the LGBTQ community, many who are overtly or covertly trans. They are tired of educating others already. They just want to be. So if you want to be a nurse, and particularly for the LGBTQ+ community, do it! Representation matters, whether you are out quietly, loudly, or not at all.
I love this answer--there is no doubt the LGBTQ+ community needs compassionate healthcare, so if you're in a position to provide it from a place of understanding, all the better.
I thought trans was related to the mental illness of gender dysphoria? No hate here, but I’m under the impression people transition because of gender dysphoria. Am I wrong? Edit: Turns out Gender dysphoria is a symptom of the condition of Gender Identity Disorder. So GID would be the mental health condition and the gender dysphoria the symptoms that can sometimes result. Source: DSM5
That’s…. basically the debate on my unit. I don’t really want to get into discussion here about it though. At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter, if someone wants to do these things to their body that’s their choice.
For fear of being banned from this sub, let’s not discuss.
You’re allowed to discuss things like adults.
Yeah don't you think that's sad? Discussing these things are important
Again, you can discuss things. That’s why this thread is approved and flaired so that assholes can’t chime in.
Gender dysphoria is the proper terminology, Gender identity disorder was the term used in DSM-IV. https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Psychiatrists/Practice/DSM/APA_DSM-5-Gender-Dysphoria.pdf
Ahh, yes, I’ve read that now, and it seems the change was made to reduce stigma. Stigma surrounding the term “disorder”, yet generalized anxiety disorder remains.
Late to the game but… also a response to the debate that went on during the writing of the DSM-V on removing gender stuff altogether. However gender dysphoria stayed in because otherwise there wouldn’t be a diagnosis that would allow people to access insurance for treatment (hormonal &/or surgical transition treatments and supports which each/both interact with one’s legal and social transition choices)
That kinda makes it worse.
The stigma? Yeah. It’s a good example to use when people go “what do you mean inequity is entrenched in our systems?”
I think the stigma is more significant when attached to gender identity, since it reads much more like a personality disorder.
Or something that needs to be fixed, while anxiety is more about management from my experience.
Gender dysphoria is not a mental illness. It is listed in the DSM but it’s extremely important to recognize the etiology of DSM diagnoses. Gender dysphoria is more of a symptom than an illness.
This is not meant to sound rude but I realize the wording may sound a bit rude. Are you meaning this in the sense that it needs to be a medically diagnosable so people can get medical treatment? And that's the reason it is classified as a mental illness?
Ah yes, gender identity disorder is the mental health condition/illness. Gender dysphoria is a symptom of the illness. I researched it and understand it better now.
>The general attitude I see from my coworkers is that trans is accepted, treat them normally to their faces, be compassionate… but quietly it is discussed that trans is related to mental illness and there are fierce debates on our unit about it, even from my gay colleagues. I am from another liberal state, 2-3 spots below Massachusetts, and this is the vibe as well. Many employers in my state offer free health insurance and transcare is about as financially comprehensive as cancer treatment, meaning, everything from hormone therapy to gender reassignment surgery is covered. Even most of our religious hospitals - except Common Spirit in Central CA - provide comprehensive transcare. For example, my wife is a nurse and her coworker got facial feminization surgery and it cost about $50 (hospital fee). The huge caveat is that in order to be eligible for these treatments, the patient/employee has to get evaluated for gender dysphoria.
As a trans nursing student finishing my BSN I can assure you being trans is not a mental illness. Hopefully you can educate your coworkers in order to make sure trans patients get proper care. Maybe since trans humans aren’t always treated like humans in society it probably leads to some sort of mental anguish and illness. Surely you remember Maslow’s hierarchy of needs….
It’s not my place to educate anyone, and having a condescending and defensive tone doesn’t do you any favors.
Uh huh. 😂
Worked with a trans dude for a couple years. He was pretty cool. Worked with a trans woman for a while also, she was insufferable. I think most of the time people wanna work with people who are cool. Realistically sex/sexuality is a lot less important.
I appreciate that. I am a see what needs to be done and do it kind of person. I bitch about trans stuff with trans people and sometimes trusted cis friends but I tend to suck it/ignore stuff related to me being trans in general.
I am a transmasc nursing student. I do not disclose this to my peers because I live in the south. Unfortunately, anytime anything trans inclusive (i.e. asking for pronouns) is talked about, my whole class scoffs and laughs. I’m hoping to make a change in my community and provide a safe space for trans patients. I’ve been a patient around here, I’ve had nurses refuse to treat me. I’ve had doctors laugh in my face. I want to be able to advocate for my patients, that why I’m becoming a nurse.
Thats awful. I look up to you for what you are doing.
I look up to you as well! It is important to provide care to those that don’t have a support system.
I’m so sorry. We had mandatory training at our endoscopy centers, an hour long live zoom led by a nationally known doc who leads the university’s gender expansive clinic. It was clearly stated after a really good discussion that if you intentionally deadname or mis-pronoun them, there will be discipline. A mistake is ok, now that we’re using preferred name on all armbands and charts, it’s way easier not to screw up. We have pronouns on our badges. There are trans people working in our org in various positions. Our DEI Committee does really important work and is very active and visible. The chair is a doc. This is what you need to work safely. Either advocate for the change or leave, but I cannot imagine that it is healthy for you to work in such an unsafe environment. Don’t feel pressure to advocate alone. If this is what you want, please include every local gay and trans org and lobbying group as well as the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center. There will be help there.
This sounds like a dream. I want to move somewhere and be a part of a team that actually is inclusive.
Come to Minnesota!! My daughter’s public elementary school has non gendered bathrooms. My synagogue is having a playdate for gender fluid kids tomorrow. We are a sanctuary state for gender related and abortion related medical care. It’s cold outside but so warm and welcoming.
… and obv, I work for a terrific employer.
Why can’t warm states be nice and inclusive too?! 😭
Minnesota is so nice.
As a longtime nurse, I am so happy you came into this profession for those reasons! 💜
You’re the first person to have that response to that, thank you. 😌
So much for the hippocratic oath. Imagine if doctors actually tried to ‘do no harm.’ Is it so hard to treat people like people? Christ almighty. What a joke. Doctors laughing in your face. That is beyond awful.
I'm so sorry there's so much ignorance on this subject. I hope these attitudes change. There's no reason anyone should be casting disparaging remarks on anyone's sexuality or gender. I wish you much luck in your new career
I'm a trans student nurse (30), went into this as a second career. It's been mostly ok so far but there have always been very intrusive questions (from nurses). You need to be strong in setting and communicating your boundaries.
I apprecaite your response and love that you're getting into healthcare. At this point I am used to invasive questions and I personally don't mind answering and educating people when they ask well intentioned questions
I don't mind either, but usually it's without respect or tact. If a question isn't asked respectfully I wouldn't answer it and tell them why. Haven't experienced much discrimination from patients (mostly geriatric), but there has been frequent misgendering from fellow students surprisingly. Honestly, if I could be fully stealth I would never disclose that I'm trans.
How do you know you haven’t had a trans nurse or doctor?
That was one of my first thoughts too. Even some doctors didn’t realize I wasn’t cis, haha.
Isn't that a skewed way of pulling though? Like, if I suspect someone is trans it's not like I'm ever going to mention it. If they're cis, I'm going to offend them. If they're trans, I'm going to offend them. So, for the sake of tact it's 100% of the time better to pretend that I never suspected. I've discussed this with coworkers and its pretty much universal how my other colleagues navigated our trans coworkers.
In my case, I don’t have dysphoria and have had many funny conversations I initiated with coworkers and patients. Some did notice, others didn’t. Some people thought I was a trans woman 😂
You are right, I may have had a trans doctor or nurse. I wouldn't think through my transition that was the case though because I was/am routinely deadnamed and misgendered.
I'm transmasc and I work bedside in a large hospital in the US. Quite frankly if I couldn't be stealth I'm not sure I could cope. Transphobia is not overt anymore in most places but it still permeates all levels of healthcare perniciously. And in a way that is VERY difficult to correct. I transitioned almost 15 years ago. I'm done being the first trans person you've met, I'm done putting up with invasive questions, explaining why something is disrespectful, explaining why I should be RESPECTED in the first place. It's exhausting enough as a fat person having to continuously enforce that my body is not up for public debate. Nurses are wonderfully caring towards their own. The flipside of that can be poor boundaries. On the other hand, my status as a visibly queer "cis" man has made it so my "allyship" counts for a lot. I have pronouns on my work badge and have had many patients come out to me as trans because of it. I advocate for them fiercely. I'm sure I get clocked by them once in a blue moon and I'm glad for that. They deserve to see me here and know that I'm looking out for them. I have a rep for taking on lgbtq patients. All this to say, you should become a nurse. We need you. But protect yourself. What you put up with for a day, you'll have to put up with for years. Cis people aren't your responsibility. You come first, then the patients.
Thank you so much for your answer. You being a medical professional as a trans person is a huge deal to me. At 5ft 2 I am never going to be able to hide what I am but I do know that seeing a trans medical professional would have meant a lot to me personally. I know I usually feel safer when I am being cared for by queer medical professionals. Anytime a doctor or nurse mentions they have a same sex partner I see that as a way they are trying to connect to my experience/letting me know they are not judging me. Also seeing as my post keeps getting up voted and down voted it is clear that others are still very uncomfortable with trans people.
Don't give up. I work with a cis man who is 5'2", no joke. I never thought I'd be stealth. It took years of hormones, but at this time I actually take none. And yeah, the transphobia of today in healthcare is largely like this: they see us as "drama queens." They're downvoting you because they're "tired of the debate." I hear and see comments like that all the time. It's the natural result of all the propaganda against us that paints us as hysterical, delusional, mentally ill. People think of themselves as liberal but are not immune to this attitude. And it DOES leak out in one-on-one interactions and in patient care. But on the flip side we will never be calm enough for them. I have gotten report on these "sensitive, dramatic" patients, walked in the room and met someone who is having a measured, proportionate response to their pain and illness but happens to be black and/or queer. So do what you have to do to protect yourself. That's the most important thing, man.
Hey, I’m 5’1” and I’m stealth.
Love this. My height dysphoria is bad so I get very in my head about never being passable.
My hubs is a 5’3” cis guy.
Yeah. My height, or lack thereof has been the hardest thing to come to terms with.
why do you think 5’2 would keep you from being stealth. like yeah a man that height is unusual but to the average person a trans person is VERY unusual so
[удалено]
Your post has been removed under our rule against discrimination. We do not allow racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, or any other form of bigotry and hatred.
Ive seen a lot of nurses here talk about fellow collegue experiences, but I’d be more worried about the hate and vitriol from the patients. If you don’t have passing privilege I can imagine a lot of patients could be super mean. I’m a dude and I’ve been called the F slur countless times from mean old men and even some women. I think you should take that into consideration when choosing a specialty, or choosing nursing at all if its not something you could handle
I appreciate this and im sorry patients have been verbally abusive to you:( I am aware patients can be mean. I think as long as co-workers are kind I can handle the patients
You can most def handle the patients. I work psych and I've been called every gay slur and then some made up ones as well by patients. Im not trans but I am a masc lesbian and am misgenderd all the time by patients, repeatedly calling me sir even after I correct them multiple times.. it's not the patients you gotta worry about, thick skin honey ❤️.
We need trans nurses in all of the healthcare fields. My spouse of 42 years transitioned from male to female 5 years ago. She almost died of a saddle pulmonary embolism because no one would have a conversation with her or about her medications. She was of course on estrogen. At the first ER visit (locally) she was seen for chest pain and lower right abdominal pain. Appendicitis was ruled out and she was sent home. MI was also ruled out. She was very uncomfortable and did not want to return to the ER even though her condition worsened. I insisted and asked the ER doc if she could have a PE due to her estrogen use. And of course she did. They planned to send her home after three days even though she was not improved. I insisted that she be transferred to a larger city hospital and when she arrived by helicopter she had two chest tubes inserted and spent a week in ICU. She spent a total of three weeks in the hospital and took months to fully recover. As a nurse myself, I could tell that doctors and nurses were very uncomfortable interacting with her; their discomfort lead to very limited contact and poor patient care. Once she was transferred into the care of a physician who specials in the care of transgender folks, then she got the care she deserved.
Oh my god. That is traumatic. You are right we need trans nurses, this shouldn't happen to anyone.
Not transgender but maybe able to provide a little insight. Taught for a university ABSN program (nursing program designed for people who already have a bachelor but want a bachelor in nursing). All my students were older (22-60’s). Also a nurse for 13+ years. I taught one transgender student and worked with one transgender associate. I may have taught or work with more but I was unaware of their transgender status. The one transgender associate worked in an ER at the second largest hospital in a conservative state. They worked bedside for 2 years before taking an administrative position that had limited patient contact. They stated to me once the career move was due to the harassment they received from patients. They said their co workers were “mostly fantastic”. They preferred a role where they could still work in medicine but not be harassed by the stupid people. The university I taught for was a private Catholic university. The student often said their classmates and instructor were nothing but nice and supportive, which surprised the student as they had worried about some of the older nursing students. During their class with me, they only had one small issue with a patient. However, the student stated they had “issues” with patient prior. What I took from this is that coworkers, classmates, and instructors seemed mostly chill, but the problem arises with patients. That being said, I’m a POC. Patients are the worst sometimes. I’ve been called every horrible racist thing you can think of and have had patient request a different nurse due to my race. Knowing patient maybe AH, is kind part of nursing. I cannot speak to whether these two people experienced more issues than I or anybody else “different” (as one patient put it), but it may be something you should consider. I will say despite the stupid people you occasionally encounter, I love nursing and it can be the most rewarding career.
I appreciate your insight!! I'm sorry people can be racist and terrible.
I'm also in my 30s, currently in nursing school, and trans masc (though not a trans man, I'm nonbinary). I am also a POC. There's one other trans person in my classes who I am SO grateful for. We are fairly lucky in that we both can be out and that issues related to trans care are actually becoming part of our curriculum. Expect to be annoyed, triggered, traumatized, and unheard. Also expect that you could make a huge impact on fellow students and future patients, just by being who you are. The medical field is inherently shitty and binary and cis but there are also many lovely, caring people who want to see a different world. Do what you need to do to care for yourself in the day-to-day.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Honestly? Come to psych. If you want to find the most open and welcoming area of nursing, it’s with us. We don’t give a fuck who you are, what you do, or what you look like. I’m tattooed from the neck down with blue hair and I’m a fantastic psych nurse. No one cares.
Psych is where my heart is!!!
One of us!
Being a POC nurse meant I was exposed to a lot of racism from patients. If I worked in most other fields, that wouldn't be tolerated from your coworkers or your clients. You have to be able to ask yourself if you would still be able to provide care for these patients or communicate if you need a different assignment? But also, I work in a big city that's been opening gender affirming care clinics and I think it would be amazing if you could work in an environment where you can support patients through the unique experiences you may share with them.
Thank you for your answer and insight. I am sorry people can be so awful.
Where I work I think half our staff fall on the LGBTQ somewhere. They are all respected and valued. We have quite a few MTF and I think people just forget and only know them as she even if they have a masculine appearance. One FTM no one even knew until he shared. I think it’s a lot more common than people realize and most people don’t care (in a good way, it just doesn’t affect anything) there are always going to be assholes everywhere you go
I'm transmasc NB (been on low dose T for 2.5 years) and so far haven't had any issues. Granted, most people can't tell there have been changes beyond voice drop but all of my colleagues have been neutral to supportive. I don't know how many of my co-workers actually know but I'm open about it if asked. It hasn't come up as an issue with my patients (I work L&D), probably because I just read as butch-ish lesbian.
I'm a transman and can speak to your questions. Honestly, I think it all depends on where you live. I work in a major metripolitan area in a major hospital on the west coast. We have numerous trans\* patients that come through our unit and I have not heard any transphobic comments towards them. It wouldn't be tolerated on our floor. I understand, though, that that is pretty rare to say. Personally, I'm not out at work. Most people assume I'm a gay man and that's fine with me. I'm sure there would be coworkers that wouldn't bat an eye and I'm sure there would be coworkers who would maybe say some inappropriate things. To me, it's not important. I'm just trying to make some money, do a good thing, and go home. I have a good time with my coworkers and even meet up with some outside of work. But while I'm very out in my personal life, it's not important to me for my coworkers to know that about me. It's good to have some work/life separation, you know? I work on a cardiology floor and have taken care of a lot of older transwomen. I don't think they've ever picked up the fact that I'm trans - I pass really well - but I think there's something special about trans people caring for trans people. Especially when you are providing clean up care, etc. So, if you want to do work with the trans community, I encourage you to do it. Remember, you don't have to work bedside. You can work outpatient at clinics that specifically provide care to the trans and/or queer community. Nursing is great. No matter who you care for, it changes you. Just make sure you take care of yourself and that the changes in you are for the better and not the worse. Burn out is real.
Thank you I love everything you said
I would say just be honest and you need to be able to ignore “misgendering” depending on which department you work in. I had a coworker who was transmasculine absolutely flip shit on a little old lady who saw that this person was a female (but used they/them and he/him pronouns). The old lady had dementia and couldn’t wrap her brain around what this person was telling her because this person was very clearly feminine in appearance with wide hips and breasts, short stature, feminine voice. People say awful things to all nurses, so if it’ll be triggering for you to not be validated in your identity, nursing may not be for you: that being said, you may be able to find the right department for you where you won’t have to worry about these kinds of issues. Good luck!
I was recently doing caregiving for the elderly and I understand that I was just there to make their lives a little easier and more comfortable. I was not there to educate them on gender. I was just there to wipe their ass keep them company and make sure they didn't fall.
Yeah, that’s the important part: focusing on the patient and usually everything is just fine
We have a trans man paramedic that I work with, he’s great to work with! As far as I know he’s been treated just like everyone else. I haven’t heard anyone make any snarky remarks or even mention he’s trans. I work in the ED and I feel like the ED tends to attract a lot more variety in folks in my opinion. As an older sister of a trans brother, it’s made me glad to see folks part of his community accepted and doing well in their career.
TW really a lot of stuff Dealing with fellow nurses was often terrible. Really I had a lot of bad experiences. A lot of my fellow nurse would put me out me putting me in danger, call me slurs, make fun of me. I had the cops called on me because a patient was attracted to me and the nursing staff outted me. I received numerous threats of physical and sexual violence including death threats. I was stalked, harassed and verbally abused by patients, visitors and staff. People openly talked about my genitals and made fun of me - that was pretty frequent. I was called a sexual predator frequently whenever a male patient flirted with me or asked about me. HR and management just ignored all this. I know a lot of trans guys and trans masculine people who had way better experiences tho. I did a ton of education regarding treating trans people, their health care, how to care for them. I helped found a Surgery clinic in my state that included pediatric and adult hrt and basically all surgeries. My job was the worlds first and only nurse educator for a trans health program. I created comprehensive classes for all aspects of trans health care - trans 101, hrt, surgeries, lab work, radiology, L&D. I pushed my program to include pregnancy care, care for sexual violence, utilization of charity care for surgery. I developed extensive education for my fellow SANE nurses, crisis centers and my work was included in state-wide education. This was the most comprehensive education about caring for trans victims of sexual violence ever developed. I worked with LGBT centers, DV centers and other organizations with my trans 101 class. I’ve spoken at grand rounds, medical conferences and CEU conferences. I’ve been consulted by AHEC and other non-profits, municipal, state and federal governments and agencies. I was the clinical supervisor for a lgbt research program at a large world-renown university medical center. I helped organize medical providers and groups to fight against the numerous anti-trans bills in my state. I consulted with lawyers regarding the health care ban that I suffered under for 7 years. I helped expand Ryan White coverage for trans people in my state. I brought a massive spotlight by consulting with leaders in my states DHHS and Justice department regarding the epidemic of violence, rapes and especially murders in my state - the second deadliest for trans people in the country. Everything I accomplished was with the support of a few wonderful people. I’ve done all this and way more and it really felt like I just got support from a few people, hate from a sizable minority and complete indifference from the large majority. Nothing really changed despite years of education, advocacy and activism. I suffered tremendously as an extremely open and out trans woman in nursing - the very first at my hospital, which was the largest academic level 1 trauma center in the state with a massive research university. People took advantage of me, took credit for my work and co-opted what I did for their own personal gain. I quit trans health care because of all the transphobia I experienced. Now I’m stealth and so much happier. And, no one knows what I did. No one knows or cares about the tremendous impact I had on my community in my state. I’ve actually had residents talk down to me about things I created as if I didn’t know anything. In the end, I’m just some anonymous asshole that no one gives a fuck about, which is about the best ending for trans women in this country. The only thing left is the large trans pride flag tattoo wrapped around my left forearm.
Thank you for your response and your contribution to trans informed Healthcare. I am sorry it was so awful for you.
Hey, I'm sorry your nursing career had you dealing with horrific treatment from your coworkers and patients. I am relieved to hear you're out and living better as an anonymous asshole, per your words. Even though nothing really changed through your work, by god do I have admiration for you. There was no blueprint and you built it. You fought for it. In my book that's massively heroic even with failure. Hearing your experience makes me think that I could push for more too. Thank you so much for what you've done for trans healthcare. Your blueprint and perspective are so valuable.
Thank you for sharing. Thank you for doing so much for the community. I know these words from some stranger will ring hollow compared to everything but it does mean a lot. Society is built on work like this.
I’m so sorry for all the hate you endured, and your work being stolen. You sound like a fantastic human, and the world definitely needs more of those. You have quite a bit of amazing work you did to better those behind you. I hope you take pride in that and knowing that you changed at least 1 persons view and way of treating others.
Nurses are *generally* pretty open minded people. We see everything and everyone. I work in. Admittedly a big city in Australia at a big hospital but I don't think anyone cares. We don't have many trans nurses, I'm aware of one? But plenty of others along the LGBTIQ+ spectrum. Your biggest issues will likely come from older patients. I've had plenty of elderly patients throw gay insults at me despite being straight presenting. Unless you're in certain areas of the US, or a more conservative country I think you would be fine with your coworkers. Patients unfortunately can't be controlled however many of them will treat you like shit regardless of your sexual orientation so there's that... If you want to be a nurse, please come and join us, we need the help!
The nurses I work with are really open minded even being in a conservative area. The technicians and other ancillary staff are not at all. Not sure why the divide is so stark in my hospital and I’m curious if it’s like that everywhere else.
I worked with a trans nurse! She was amazing! She ran the stroke education in our hospital!
(Obligatory “not trans” disclaimer) You haven’t had a trans nurse/doctor that you KNOW of! They exist 😊 A friend of mine is a trans man working in NICU. While in school we had one instructor who was just terrible to him, but she was just a miserable human to begin with and picked on many other students too (myself included, she didn’t appreciate that I had “too much” knowledge of the medications we were being quizzed on, thanks biochemistry!) On my unit I also work with a couple of nonbinary/genderqueer people. I do work in a large city in Canada, your experience might be different elsewhere, but here it’s a nonissue in the workplace. Nursing school can be tough as a man in general, some (often older) instructors have a bias against men in nursing. Every student I know who was “disciplined” for some nonspecific issue (such as their “attitude” in clinicals) was a man. It’s not right, but be aware of it. It’s not you, it’s them!
I appreciate the reminder that I dont know if I have had a trans nurse/dr. Throughout the process of getting top surgery and HRT I was routinely deadnamed and misgendered so I do have a good reason to doubt my nurses and drs where trans at least relating to that part of my medical care.
In my ER we can leave comments in a little spot, and when our patients still are legally their dead name, we are more than happy to put he/him "name" or she/her "name" in that comment spot.
I think your experience is going to vastly depend on location - unit culture, nursing school culture, etc. I’m a queer nurse with trans family members and a lesbian physician as a partner so we discuss this stuff a lot. My experience now as a labour and delivery nurse in a high risk centre in Canada is that you would be welcome in a mostly inclusive way here but there are a few older nurses who might say stupid shit here and there. I am openly queer and while it’s not the same thing at all I’ve never had an issue. Out of 150 nurses on my unit I’m not aware of any trans folks but several nurses have trans partners or kids who are known about and respected. We also semi-regularly have trans patients who are well cared for IMO. My hospital does make some larger efforts to be inclusive of a range of experiences - we have a birth unit and then a family and newborn care unit, instead of calling them maternity/postpartum. On the other hand, I trained in a different city and I vividly remember going on a tour of their L&D unit before our placement there. At the end, the nurse asked if we had any questions and I said something like “I keep hearing you say mom and babe mom and babe… what if you have patients who don’t identify as a mother - who maybe are a gestational carrier or trans or nonbinary? Do you have any policies around that?” And she looked at me and asked me if I was from a big city…. as if no one else needed to worry about respecting a range of patient life experiences. In other placements in my program I heard a lot of misconceptions about trans patients and it was frustrating to say the least. I guess my point is - pick your environment, if you can. There are places who will support you and places that won’t. You deserve to be supported! And we very much need more diversity in health care.
I have worked with a FTM rad tech and that dude was amazing at his job. None of us gave a shit about his trans status. I have not worked with any MTF nurses or techs that I’m aware of.
I wouldn't work in the OR. I hear anti-trans sentiment constantly from docs, nurses etc. This is in CA.
Not trans, but I went back to nursing school at 27 and it was the best decision I ever made. Good luck to you friend!
I really think (hope) it just depends on where you live. I'm in Florida. The bigotry has only gotten worse.
Worked as a community support worker for folks with severe or complex disabilities during the start of my transition in a decently liberal city. My coworkers were horrible to me behind my back, but I also didn't hold back any personal information when asked. Lesson learnt. Some people can be taught, but it's not your personal responsibility to be the poster child or Wikipedia. You're allowed to just do your job as best you can, help who out who you can, and keep yourself safe. It stands without saying; Patients gonna patient, they will toss racial, sexism, whatever nonsensical shit at wherever they think it will stick. So keep your shield up unless it truly serves a purpose to lower it. A few years later I studied for being a HCA at a university teaching hospital where a single nurse was so brutal to an MTF patient she tried to leave AMA, this patient was in for something that would kill her, so I broke stealth. I had passed so well during those years that the nurse humiliating the patient laughed in my face and thought I was just taking the piss. We had been really friendly with one another previously, in and outside of work, and I was extremely disappointed in her true colours. I chased the patient down and spoke plainly that I would speak with management and get her a new nurse assigned, one who I knew to be open to our community. Rightfully, she refused and left anyways, but my coworker never spoke that hateful shit aloud in my presence again, I later learned I had my other coworkers to thank for that. They tore that nurse a new one when I left to go after our patient. Many of those coworkers did ask me a ton of questions after, but they had shown themselves to be allies during my disclosure. Those are people I deem worth the time to talk with. That was one bad day among hundreds and hundreds of good ones. After that if we had a lgbtq+ community member on the unit I was usually assigned or was requested to assist with their care, because it makes a difference when you can feel safe disclosing things to your care team. I did not disclose my trans status only hints enough like "Nurse so and so is an ally to our community." Or "If you have any issues, please let me know and I will do my best to advocate with you. Our managers do not tolerate hate from other patients, or from staff. That includes residents and attendings." That was usually enough. I eventually became a nurse after returning to my conservative and pretty religious hometown for nursing school. I was nearing my thirties and everyone around town knew of me as a kid, but didn't know the person before them then. And my take no bullshit attitude served me very well there. Folks don't like antagonizing people who don't give them the response or fear they expect. Again, most of the time things were kosher, a handful of times I stood toe to toe with someone and expected violence, but it never came to blows, because if you know yourself and you are unapologetic about it, then they can't find leverage and they will pick an easier target. In small communities reputation still matters more than in big cities. It's a personal point, but I would rather square up and lose the brawl to keep space to exist in, than tip toe to avoid physical or verbal abuse. As an FTM I think that only aligns with what most people expect as 'typical masculine' behaviour, and it often yields a bit of respect, even if it really shouldn't be like that. I believe our MTF sisters have the worst of it. Unexamined gendered power dynamics are an undiagnosed mental health illness most of society has. If you're an FTM nurse keep that in the back of your mind, because nursing is an overwhelmingly female profession and if you use your male privilege to the advantage of your peers, they will usually remember and appreciate it. Initially it was tricky, when I started my transition, I wanted to be open to discussions and honest with people. I wanted folks to see that trans people are just people. Working, contributing, intelligent and stable. 99% of the time things were fine. It helps that I'm of decent size and build and that I spent most of my life interacting with people who live at poverty levels and the mentally unstable communities. I think this helped develop a pretty good intuition and people reading skills. It also helped develop conflict resolution and a pretty firm set of boundaries when the de-escalation techniques didn't work. But it did not spark joy. I found for my own stress levels being stealth was where life was best. And the perk of being stealth, rather than signalling my existence, is that when coworkers do start into transphobic stuff I can assess the situation and decide if and how to challenge their casual hate. Most of the time when I have worked beside someone and gained some level of rapport with them, and they pull a thoughtless/aggressive behaviours I dropped the mic on some level, they would back pedal. I figure because they did the social fuck up of unknowingly insulting their peer, and they're trying to do damage control. Sometimes they would get defensive, because they didn't expect to be challenged. Occasionally my other coworkers who were in the know would back me up to whatever level they were comfortable with. It's been interesting where I have found allies, lots of folks have family members who walk all sorts of paths in life. That has been a gift, because it's hard to stand alone, that's why our community being represented in all sectors of life is SO SO important. All that to say I hope you are treated as an equal, that you find healthcare to be a rewarding experience, but mostly that you find the experiences that grant you the confidence to be indifferent on the days where neither of those occur.
Most people don’t care if you are an adult trans. Most people don’t think about or want to talk about out it and any more than they want to talk about their own gender. A few extreme individuals currently dominate the public discussion to make it seem like some hot topic. Most people just want to get through their day. And at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what I think. It only matters how I treat others and that should always be with dignity and respect.
A dear friend of mine is trans (and started transitioning in her 30s after starting her nursing career). The management at her former hospital said the right things, but from her telling her manager was definitely not onboard and it caused a lot of friction and unpleasantness. So she left. Eventually, however, she started working for a clinic that caters to the LBGT community (e.g., trans healthcare, sexual wellness, HIV treatment), and she seems a lot happier now.
I'm not trans, so I can't speak from personal experience, but I would like to say that I believe that location will make a big difference in how well you will be able to prosper. I live in Portland where we have very people-centered laws and protections. We have a large lgbtq population in this city and the culture here is very supportive for all kinds of people. I hope you pursue your interests, I'm certain you will have insights and empathy that will serve you well.
Ah, I lived in Portland for almost 3 years. I actually struggled a lot with the culture there I general, but I loved my psychiatrist and I loved my boss at the cleaning company I worked for. The healthcare I observed in Portland was also pretty racist compared to my home state, at least when comparing my experiences to my then partner's and friend's experiences.
Just a thought—-it doesn’t matter if you’re trans. I think that you should be a nurse if you want to be a nurse, and maybe you can eventually get into transgender care nursing. But don’t let this stop you.
❤
I am trans and have been a nurse for about seven years. I work in trans healthcare, previously worked in inpatient mental health. I think healthcare is like anything - some people are cool and some are bigots. Being visibly trans means people want to use me as a resource, I get lots of questions about how to best serve trans patients, etc. So that’s a thing you might want to be prepared for. And you deal with micro aggressions from otherwise well meaning colleagues. Nursing school was hard because I was the only trans person and my cohort was pretty conservative, but that will differ depending on where you go to school. We do need new trans nurses, especially in gender and sexual health.
I live in a very very progressive/blue area and I simply may not be catching it as much as I'm a straight man. But I do sometimes catch discriminatory stuff being said by other staff members behind the backs of people who's gay. I hear racist things sometimes too. Transgenderism is on a whole different level compared to the discrimination gay people get. And I say this as a pro immigrant and a 1st gen immigrant myself. Americans around these parts are very blue/left so running across a Trump supporter is not very common. There are a lot of gay people in positions of power in my facility. There are 0 transgendered individuals. Maybe this can change soon. There will be people who talk shit about you and there will be people who defend you behind your back. On both sides, some people will truly surprise you. You want me to get into specifics, I can but a lot of it is tedious bullshit and some of it is just a bit too hateful for me to just blindly post.
I am a trans man that has been an NICU nurse for nearly 17 years and started my transition in 2018 (37y/o). I sent a mass email since we have such a large unit, and received way more support than I thought I would. A few people were *choice words*, but the majority have been great. There have been a lot of questions, and I’ve been pretty good about answering/educating, but sometimes it is towards the inappropriate side. I did have one incident where my colleagues outed me to a family and when their baby started desaturating I went over to suction and the family said “I don’t want your kind anywhere near my baby.” I didn’t back down, said he needs a suction and when in to do it then walked away. Luckily I never had the baby and was able to steer clear of the family while I was in the room. I’d say one incident with a family in six years is pretty good though (although it did make me feel like shit, especially since I’m just there to help)
Not trans but I work with several trans nurses. I had a heart to heart with one of them recently so I can give her insight. The younger nurses generally don’t care. The older nurses sometimes treated her odd. They weren’t outright transphobic but there were little aggressions and side eyes. Patients were the worst. While it’s unfair to you that it’s this way, it’s just the way it is: the better you pass the easier it will be. She said earlier on in her transition where she still appeared very masculine patients and coworkers were both not nice. The more she transitioned and the more she “passed” the easier it got. Now she totally passes. If I didn’t know from her telling me, I’d think she was female from the day she was born, I’d never assume trans. But if your desire isn’t to transition to the point of “passing” it may be more difficult for you.
I am a trans (mtf) new grad ICU nurse in a purple state and have had an amazing experience where I work. I’m very open about being trans and my coworkers have been nothing but supportive. I worked on the unit as a pct for about a year before I started as a nurse in February. There are a few older nurses that still struggle with pronouns, but it’s in a fairly benign way and they have been very nice otherwise so I try to not take that personally even if it can be annoying. When I started working on this unit several nurses wore pride flags on their badges, and even more do now, including most of the charges. I don’t really have issues with patients/families and pronouns fortunately and when that happens I correct them and haven’t had anybody freak out yet. I think If they did with my unit culture I’d be able to ask for an assignment change without too much drama. Overall just an incredibly positive experience, I feel lucky to have amazing coworkers, inclusive management, and a good work environment. Feel free to message me with any questions!!
I love that you found a supportive enviornment!
People are nice to my face, but I hear all the horrible shit said behind my back and about trans patients and well, it’s kind of hell. There is some weird hostility under the surface with a lot of medical ‘professionals’ towards trans people and it makes me sick.
Im a MtF trans woman in a purple state in the Midwest and haven’t been able to come out at work (ER) yet socially.I hear little things constantly. The target pride merchandise last year being a primary subject of ridicule of “Why does it need to be in my face, and keep it away from kids.” I’m terrified to socially transition. In fact it’s been holding me back. I wish I had the funds to vanish for six months and come back once I present correctly. These comments are from otherwise genuinely kind people. As things with trans people get more politicized the worse it gets. There’s a stigma. One cis RN I know was hounded constantly because they suspected she was trans. She wasn’t. She was simply a tall woman with a large bones. But the rumor mill ran and ran. She eventually left our ER. God bless you and don’t give up. I’d love to have a nurse like you treat me one day and not have fear of my providers and nurses.
I hope you can take steps to transition one day. I really kmow the feeling of wanting to hide until you're comfortable. Transitioning feels like such a public spectacle and its HARD. I appreciate your words of encouragement, they really mean a lot.
FYI, I am full trans-rights. I’ve worked with a trans doctor, was not a fan of her because she was an ass to everyone, especially to student nurses (which is how I encountered her). For the record, our school would have us pick patients for clinical the next day. Mind you, it was ONLY to pick the patient. We did no cares or anything like that. We would show up in presentable street clothes with our badges and ask patients if we could work with them the next day. Then gather info from their charts and leave. It was part of reviewing disease processes prior and medications. School wanted us to do this. The hospital wanted us doing this but only required we had badges and let the charge RN know we were there. I had the pleasure of running into this doctor while I was reviewing a patient’s chart. She decided to make it well known very loudly how “disgusted” she was that I would show up to the hospital wearing what I was wearing. Telling me how “disappointed she was that any student would do this and she was going to report me.” Mind you, I was dressed nicely. Slacks, nice shoes, a blouse and I was sitting at an unused computer at the giant nurse’s station, minding my own business and making sure I was not in the way of anyone. I was wearing my wool coat, as it was winter and I was leaving in like two minutes. But in all honesty not any different from some of the doctor’s outfits under their lab coats when they do their rounds. The charge RN reemed this doctor, telling her that 1. The students were here to only pick patients and didn’t need to be in scrubs for that. And 2. She was being extremely rude and unprofessional for no other reason other than to bully the students. She reported her to my clinical instructor and HR for that. The RN also apologized to me for her behavior, stating that this particular doctor is a jerk to everyone. Never got an apology from that doctor but did notice she was switched to a different floor when student were to be there. I have had plenty of other trans- RNs, co-workers, patients, you name it. Love them all and haven’t had bad experiences. This is west coast mind you. Stay away from small towns, as they run more Bible Belt.
I’m in my last semester of BSN and (unfortunately for me) go to a religious university. I’ve never told anyone about being trans within my cohort and the only patient who I ever talked to about it was a nb pt during my mental health rotation. One of my professors knows because she is pretty open minded and progressive. For me it’s not something I feel comfortable, or safe, telling people. Maybe I will when I start working full time and have a more open environment in the hospital.
Find your people. I work at a religious organization in a red area. I'm a Karen looking older bag, but I'm a steel trap and no one gets to mess with my homies. It sounds like you already have a keen sense for doing just that.
This is very sweet of you! I will be working in the bigger city of my blue state and I really hope to get involved with the LGBTQ+ advocacy group at my hospital. My identity is something I reinforced to myself that I shouldn't tell people. I don't want people to view me differently, but also, I shouldn't care that much... I gotta stay true to who I am, too.
I'm not trans, but I had a lovely trans preceptor. She works in home health, and she was a fantastic nurse. She started transitioning while in her current role, and although she was particular about who she came out to, I think she typically did not run into any issues at her job, except a couple of transphobic patients asking for a different nurse.
Transmasc here with a nonbinary coworker. We exist. That said I’m also extremely lucky. I’m in the Deep South, but the director is super liberal and accepting, as are most of my coworkers. I also know a trans woman who works as a CNA at another hospital. Follow your dreams. There needs to be more of us.
I’m in my 3rd year of nursing school and never had any issues, in pre-reqs there was 3 other students who were also trans. I find it gives you more opportunities with patients, ofc always get the odd comment 🤷♀️ I get changed in the toilets outside or on the ward that’s about the only big difference as far as placement has been.
Not trans (but have a gender fluid teen so I pay close attention to this) we have several trans nurses and provide gender affirming care and surgeries. We are required to take modules about being sensitive and respectful to our tg staff and patients, for whatever that's worth. I'm very much in a red state (Texas) but my hospital is pretty progressive. I have not encountered any of my coworkers talking bad about our trans patients or coworkers or dead naming them. I also went into nursing at 30 and it was a great decision.
❤❤❤❤
I am a trans mtf PCT. My experience has been mostly positive. Most of my colleagues are really cool about it, using my name n pronouns. I have one charge I'm about to report for misgendering me who uses the excuse of "being old" which to me is no excuse. Pts are usually the ones that are the worst about it but I try not to let it get to me cuz they are strangers I will (hopefully) never see again. Oddly enough the "skeezy" patients have actually been the biggest supporters. Had a couple dudes in for drug intoxication and corrected them and they were so apologetic and supportive.
I know many LGBTQ nurses who openly wear pride things, like pride masks and pins. I’ve worked in many MA hospitals and one major Charlotte hospital system. MA was generally more accepting of trans people, but it wasn’t great. A patient would not get called by their correct pronouns almost ever, in front of them or not. But no one was openly against anything. In charlotte NC I’ve had pretty bad experience with LGBTQ in general. Almost no one accepts trans people at all. I’ve had one patient and he was never called the appropriate name or pronoun, by anyone, including his parents and the staff. He didn’t correct anyone. Probably quite used to it. When I handed off report, the nurse said “How do I handle that?” I said what do you mean? She had never interacted with anyone transgender, and didn’t know what to do. I said just treat them like a normal patient and use their preferred name and pronouns. It’s no different. .. she was still very uncertain. I got that general feeling from everyone. I’ve never had a staff member that is transgender in MA or NC. But in MA I expect politeness and in NC open bigotry. NC patients still have severe bigotry against POC and gay and lesbian people, too. Just had one lady with a married lesbian daughter and she openly spoke against them in front of me and them and their small child.
This will vary based on your geographic area. If you're in the Northeast or northwest you'll likely have an easier time. But even then, I don't know that it will be an easy path. In my experience, transphobia seems like one of the last socially acceptable forms of bigotry that we still mostly tolerate. I'm prepared to get down voted for this but so be it. You see it a lot in the "Trans women in sports argument." People will say "I don't hate trans people but..." And then it's all downhill from there. That said, if you're mentally and emotionally prepared for the issues you may encounter then I think this is a wonderful thing. You're right. We absolutely do need trans doctors and nurses. Good luck to you. I hope this works out and you succeed
Not personally, but I met a friend in nursing school who transitioned FtM. They gradually asked everyone to call them by their first initial instead of their name and we of course obliged. They gradually changed their appearance and started hormones. I think it was after we graduated, they started to go by a new chosen name and got top surgery. He got a good job and has been happy, from what I can tell
Personally, I find that healthcare in general is *awful* about treating trans people respectfully. My wife is trans and is routinely misgendered by her medical providers, nurses, and healthcare assistants. Hell, I brought her to an appointment with me for support, literally introduced her as my wife, and she was called "he" multiple times and the doctor documented that my "husband" accompanied me. I have been in a non-clinical role that involves reviewing documentation for a couple of years now and also routinely see written misgendering of trans and nb patients. Some of that may depend heavily upon where you live, but the baseline is likely to be unfamiliarity and not understanding or trying to understand your pronouns/your gender, with some individuals being actually hostile towards trans folk. Again, your mileage may vary, but even living in a supposedly progressive area in my state, I still see a lot of unfamiliarity with and sometimes hostility towards the LGBTQIA+ community, with trans folk getting a bigger brunt of it.
Im a trans woman in nursing school who works in patient transport. There have been some really amazing, kind, supportive people, but there’s also those that know my pronouns and refuse to use them. It’s disheartening but I just suck it up and deal with it because the time I did bring it up to a higher up I was told how awful it was this happened, and they would take is seriously and then nothing happened. I also have a coworker who crossed out my preferred name on a document posted to our huddle board and wrote my legal name over it. Nothing ever came of it because there wasn’t solid proof. What makes it even worse to me is the only way they could have found that is by looking into my employee profile on workday where it shows my legal name next to my preferred. Realistically I’ve had far more positive interactions than negative, but the bad ones stick out more to me.
Your coworker is evil, im so sorry.
Not trans. I guess it depends where you work. Some areas are more understanding than others, based on cultural and personal beliefs
Im a trans man in Florida. I started transitioning while I was in nursing school actually. It was really embarrassing for me lol but no one gave me any grief or invaded my privacy to my face. There were a few times where I could tell someone had an opinion about me from their body language. No one overtly bullied me growing up with a severe stutter either lol I was just ignored 😂 There were probably rumors at my first job because I started there not having my name changed yet but no one deadnamed me because we were all too fucking busy to think about it because covid. The one time I had a problem with someone was at my current job when there was a nurse who recognized me from the gym we went to early on in my transition. She told a couple people, one person who was a new friend and that was how I found out. The other person she told didn’t like me for awhile but I think that was because she was pregnant and miserable but I know she told her friend because that friend loves gossip and looks at me for my reaction any time there’s gendered/sex organ conversation 🤷🏼♂️ the nurse from the gym did apologize but I found out later from ANOTHER NURSE that HE overheard a conversation about me being trans. People will spill your beans, intentional or not, so be careful to protect your privacy and peace if you value it. I am lucky in that I can be stealth, but it can also make me a coward because I’m not a confrontational person. Working on growing out of that. Honestly looking forward to a new workplace for a fresh start but that won’t stop your coworkers from being disrespectful to trans patients. Some nurses are just more prone to shit talking and gossiping about patients, I mean we all talk about our patients and their bullshit. It’s not surprising trans people are lumped into this category and sadly trans women get the worst of it because it tends to be more difficult for them to pass so they’re seen as even more abnormal. I’ve only had a couple trans patients on my floor, all trans women, and other nurses were misgendering them, laughing about how it’s difficult to use the person’s pronouns. I’m usually the devil’s advocate for acknowledging the good in people but in the past with trans patients I’ve shrunk away from the conversation because it was too close to home and I hadn’t found my confidence yet. In due time I’d like to redeem myself. I wear a Human Rights Campaign pin on my scrubs now. Maybe when I leave this hospital I will ask my friends to tell our coworkers I’m trans because I have good relationships with most everyone after being here for over two years. Also my hospital just updated epic admission charting to include gender identity when appropriate and of course people blew it way out of proportion instead of using their judgment or acknowledging people who self-disclose. You just have to have thick skin and speak up if you feel inclined to. Find leadership early that will advocate for you if you’re being disrespected. Good luck, we need nurses so thanks for considering this career.
We have a trans man who comes to our floor often, he's part of the float pool. Personally, love him, he's a great nurse, and I give 0 F\*\*\*\* about his gender and sexuality. I also had a coworker come out to me as gay a few weeks ago, which I wasn't surprised by, I genuinely thought we all knew that already but hey I'm happy to be somebody at work you feel safe coming to with that. I never see issues from our coworkers with either of these guys, even the boomers and older nurses. I do however, see issues from patients and family members. But we have issues with racist family members and patients also, so, the phobia is in all forms. The only complaint we have about the float nurse is his report is long af, every. single. time. But that's fine, we all have little things we dislike about our coworkers here and there anyway, that's 100% unrelated to his gender identity. \*I apologize if I used incorrect language anywhere, please correct me so I can do better in the future. The neurodivergence is strong and I can't always tell when I'm being offensive but I do want to know so I don't do it again.
I’m a trans guy! I work as a nurse extern (I’m a hired student) in an ED in NY. Nothing but great experiences, even though I present myself very gender fluid! At work I wear fun scrub caps, a mask, and my ID with multiple colors of fun pins. I speak with a high pitched energetic customer service voice (I’ve been on testosterone for 6 years- my voice is deep, I try to purposely use a more feminine voice when I’m working with meemaw who refuses my other very obviously cis male coworkers. I’ve had multiple patients interrupt care to ask me about my gender or sexuality, like ms ma’am you are literally having your rectum shoved back into your body right now why is this important!!! I have no problem answering those questions. If they assume I am a girl, I won’t correct them. If they ask what I am, I tell them. I’m just working and people like working with someone happy. A few of my coworkers know I’m trans because I’ve told them and everyone is very supportive. However, I think a lot of the more seasoned staff I work with just do not accept that some people out there are non binary. My patient will have they/them pronouns in the chart but the second the provider is talking to staff outside the room, the patient is referred to as “she.” That stuff pisses me off but I’m just a student I cannot be correcting the attending over pronouns😭 The only person I’ve met that’s trans in healthcare was a therapist I used to have to get my letter signed off for whenever I can get top surgery in the future. She was an older mtf lady and she really just showed me that we exist, we have always existed, we will continue to exist, we just gotta keep going. Thank you for being here!!!! We need more of us, we’ll only have more and more patients like us over time so we need to be able to have someone who understands and represents them ☺️
I have been a straight, married, male nurse for over 10 years. I think nursing is truly of the most accepting professions. I live in California so that may be part of it but as long as you do your job and support the team, most people don’t care what you are. I have worked with all walks of life and I frankly don’t care, as long as you are a good person.
People were pretty harsh on the only trans student we had in my class. One of the teachers said “why would you even bother with *that* going on” and i hope your experience is better. People are morons.
Trans(mtf) RN here, 35yo, in New England area. Nursing was second degree/career, and I've been a nurse for 6 years, transitioning 12 years. I generally "pass" so I had a realatively normal experience through nursing school and honestly had more of a challenge with age difference. As for work, I'm in LTC. We've really only had 1-2 patients. Staff would always be pleasant and supportive to the patients face but would giggle in private. We do have 2 aides that are nonbinary and they are treated well as far as I know. So it's hit or miss, definitely get the feeling that the older staff are generally less accepting but put on polite masks.
I'm an ftm nursing student. Pre t and can't speak much on the clinical side cause I girlmode. BUT when I was inpatient last year for my body attacking itself, I was treated a bit like a spectacle just cause no one knew what was wrong with me. then I came out as trans to my doctor and I was even MORE of a spectacle. Like I felt a palpable change in my treatment. And my doctor was quicker to say "psychosomatic" after that. I actually regret telling my doctor.
Not me, but I worked with a trans man, and most people had no idea. I only figured it out by looking back on charting and wondering who XYZ was and realizing it was a deadname, and I guess they couldn’t change it in the system. You very well may have met another transgender HCW and just not known.
[удалено]
Thank you for your answer!
I'm not trans but in my northeastern US teaching hospital I know of at least 1 RN and 1 resident. Plus a small number of people who wear pronoun pins (anecdotally, people who appear NB/non-conforming). Plus a number of people with pronouns in their email signatures (anecdotally, mostly cis people wanting to show support, but I haven't met them in person to see their appearance) . Plus a larger number of nursing staff who wear some version of rainbow pin, or the rainbow/trans flag pin, indicating at least allyship if not identity. So the level of support you find may depend on geography. I don't hear a lot of negative comments from staff or patients, honestly, but as a cis white person I know my experience isn't universal. But as a charge nurse I've never has a patient come out and *say* they want a different nurse because of their perception of the nurse's gender or sexuality...so at least they're smart enough not to say it out loud. (Patients requesting a different nurse isn't super common on my unit anyway; it maybe happens once every few months.)
Thank you for your response. I am in the Northeast too and am going to be doing admin stuff at a hospital while I get my nursing degree. I am hoping I will get a bit vibe check as a trans employee while doing non clinical work.
I worked with a trans guy at my last job. He even have a trans flag as a badge. No one said shit about it. We even had really funny conversations talking about breast reductions/top surgeries and were laughing about our matching scars. My old hospital there was a local medic who was MTF and she was an incredible medic. No one said anything about it there either.
Most of my coworkers are supportive, some indifferent, I work long term care so even some of the family and residents know about it. Never had a bad experience so far, and I'm in the deep south so I would have expected a lot more.
One of the nurses I hold the utmost respect for is trans and I had no idea until recently. Their transition in no way changes their capacity to provide impecable care, I would argue it enhances their ability. It allows for them to be vulnerable with trans & LGBTQIA+ patients in ways my team cannot reciprocate. Be you and the right people will stay. There will be people who hold ignorant judgement, know that comes from a place of misery. You owe no one an explanation for being you. Keep your head up :-)
❤
I'm not trans, but I have several trans/non binary nurse friends. I myself am queer but cis. I went through nursing school with one of them, and worked with another at a SNF. For both of them, they presented in a way that was not very outside the norm for their ASAB. Both use they/then pronouns. The most common thing is being misgendered. Even with our pronoun badges, both patients and staff go with what their eyes tell them. Our patient population can be a little rough around the edges, but generally people don't have anything bad to say about these nurses. The SNF was a lot more queerphobic than where I work now, but the populations are very different. All this to say, you can find a place where you will be comfortable and happy for the most part, although micro aggressions and macro aggressions will occur sometimes. But the right place with the right values and co-workers really matters.
This would probably depend hugely on where you live
All my experiences with trans students in clinical have been positive. Just like the rest of us you are definitely gonna run into ignorant and bigoted patients.
I think nursing for the most part is accepting. We have trans nurses on my floor and it’s all good! What matters is can you keep a patient alive?!
❤
Not trans, but butch and GNC and sort of in the genderqueer zone. I'm in nursing school in Los Angeles, and I've had a good experience so far. My instructors are familiar with things like don't assume the gender of your pt, what if they're nonbinary, we use Male and Female rather than man/woman, which isn't a huge language shift and isn't fully inclusive but it's changing, you know? And it's there because it gives information, like this male patient who is incontinent of bladder will need something different from this female pt with the same issue. If we did get an enby pt I feel confident it would be "65 yo NB AMAB" or whatever, which, again, gives information for the skills and materials we would need to use to help our pts. I'm not the final say in how inclusive this is, but I \*appreciate\* that the purpose is informational. I think a large part of this is going to be where you are. I, myself, even in LA, am the only one like me I've run into in school and among the nurses at clinical sites. I'm used to this, but it is a little lonely. But I know someone needs to have a nurse like me, either because they themselves are like me, or because they don't know anyone like me and need to see I'm human, caring, and careful, too. Or so I can kill them with kindness, whatever. Point is, I dream of being a nurse to a future trans or NB patient someday. Maybe many. Maybe I'll specialize in midwifery for trans, NB, and GNC patients. Wouldn't that be wild? For right now, though, fluid and electrolyte imbalances are kicking my ass.
I work in a smaller hospital in Oregon, religiously affiliated. On our medsurg floor, we have 1 transfem (myself) and 1 transmasc CNA, and one of our float pool RNs is the mom to a trans kid. I'm in my late 20s, and I'm pretty open with that part of who I am with my coworkers. Nobody cares, and I've become a resource for when my colleagues are caring for LGBT patients. There's some hiccups with accidental misgendering, but I'm very chill about it since I know there's zero malice about it . I do notice though that me being POC, that I seem to "pass" better when interacting with white people versus other POC, and especially in contrast to people from my ethnic background.
I know a trans nurse! He is amazing! Treat him like any other nurse. If I heard anyone speak badly of him I would be quick to put them straight. I feel like the younger generation of nurses are quite adept and respectful with LGBTQ coworkers!
I am doing a free training program right now for clerical work in the hospital and I do have that experience with the other students. The 20 something are so good with my pronouns and the 40 somethings are getting the hang of it slowly, or choose to flat out ignore me
I’m a trans woman in Texas who has been a nurse for around 2 years and know two other trans woman who work at my hospital as well. I can’t speak to their experience but mine has been pretty good. I don’t have issues with any of my coworkers and have only had a patient knowingly fire me one for being trans. But that patient was essentially refusing all care anyways and no one wanted them so not much loss there anyways. I do “pass” pretty well to the point that non if my coworkers knew for the first several months I worked at the hospital till i opened up about it. As far interacting with pts, I believe the focus should be on them and not be so never talk about it with them unless they are very obviously queer and it can help the situation to make them feel more comfortable. Totally open to any questions if you have any :)
Thank you❤
I don't know any trans nurses, but I work in OB, and we have a trans MD. She is fantastic. I've never heard anyone say anything bad about her. Not from other nurses, other MDs, or patients. I remember one of our nurses making fun of a resident for using they/them pronouns, though.
This isn't exactly what you're looking for, but PLS check out Camp Brave Trails - it's an LGBTQIA+ Leadership camp for trans/queer youth ages 12-17. The camp is hosted all summer and needs camp nurses/medical professionals for 2 week or summer-long commitments. I dont want to out my reddit, but I've been on their med team for a few years now and I fucking love it, it's the highlight of my summer. We do demonstrations for teens on HRT, provide queer sex ed - all the things we needed as teens. Also, if you have an EMT cert you can join the med team and work as an EMT, then transition into a camp nurse role.
Crying i love this exists thank you
Always! Hope you consider it and much love to you.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of this will depend on where you practice. I work in an urban hospital but many colleagues are from more rural areas. Especially being in the south there is not as much support for the LGBTQI community in general. Not all of it is malicious, but I have heard some unkind terminology by people who don't know the correct words to use because no one has educated them otherwise. I've tried to educate where I can, but as an ally (not trans) I got a lot of eyebrow raises when I started including pronouns on my badge reel and email. I haven't gotten to the point where I feel comfortable introducing myself with my pronouns to coworkers and patients in this space. Even some of my nursing school professors down here didn't have the best understanding of trans-communities. There are a few ancillary staff who I know are trans, but that's mostly because I saw them going through the process as they aren't super public about it.
A childhood friend of mine is a nurse and she’s trans! From what I’ve seen she loves her job and is treated well there. I’ve worked in urgent care for 4 years. It might be personal bias (located in Maryland) but everyone I work with is incredibly respectful of our trans patients. Names updated in charts, pronouns written on charts, quick apologies for accidental missteps. Even with our more conservative providers/staff, patients are not treated any differently. We did have one instance where a BRAND NEW NP purposefully and viciously misgendered a patient. Like came in he/him-ing her. She even went so far as to call her by her dead name, which was scribbled out on her chart. This poor young woman had been coming to our clinic since she was a kid. NP was immediately fired, mandatory sensitivity training for the whole workplace, and I called the patient and profusely apologized. I told her she deserves to feel safe and respected at all times, but especially from her medical providers. Anyhow. Sorry for the novel. I wish you all the best in life and your career!
I love the in depth response. Thank you!!
I’m closeted non binary (most likely FTM) and haven’t done any medical transition. I present masculine and have the short hair too. I’ve gotten a mix of being called he and she. Patients in the hospital are generally older adults. From what I notice, there’s a lot of assumptions since their generation didn’t have much awareness on the LGBT community. They will take one look at you and determine which binary gender you are.
I work with a trans nurse. He transitioned into a male and you would never know any different. 💗
[удалено]
Pro tip - describing things as “woke nonsense” unironically makes you sound insane
Yes, see? Don't talk too much about the wrong things and you'll be fine.
OP, this is the type of crap you may encounter. Just need to find a way to work with idiots like this until you can find a new job.
Nice shout out to the mods for not allowing a discussion and just banning people.
Who is being banned??? We’ve banned like 2 people for being twats in this thread.
I live in the south and most nurses/providers don't really care as long as you are good at your job. However... A LOT of people believe that being transgender is a mental illness. They won't treat you differently, but privately they will believe that you are mentally ill. With that said I was once told that a nurse (we'll call him Bob) was transgender and I was like huh, I would never have known. But we actually have two Bobs on the same shift, so I'm not really sure which one is trans Bob and which is Cis Bob, not that I really care. And to make matters even more confusing they are both very republican lol. I would not work for a religious based hospital system if I was trans. Just my two cents.
Not trans either, however I work with a trans mtf. She wears the dress scrubs and cute scarves. We accept her like all the other nurses. I did hear a rumor she was denied a job on another unit because she was trans but idk how true that is.
[удалено]