I am transgendered, and though I have chosen to live my life as the sex I was born (male) as, an argument I had with my aunt tonight has me wondering about some things. She does not think that I should consider getting into the nursing field because the job would "be too intimate and personal" and "I know I wouldn't want a transgendered person taking care of me". I tried to tell her that one's sexual orientation or identified gender have NO BEARING WHATSOEVER on how good a nurse that person may or may not be.
I do agree that a person that obviously looks like a male but is wearing makeup, or that is "flaming", is going to cause some problems with some patients, but in general, no one has "I am really a male" on their name tag. Keeping in mind that I knew nothing about transgenderism back in 1997, I was a CNA back then and when I mentioned that to her she said "well, I didn't think it was an appropriate job for you back then". Grrrr......
What have your experiences been with this sort of thing? Have you noticed transgendered healthcare staff being treated differently be co-workers, management, patients or their family? Has being transgendered caused issues in getting hired? Have you ever had to deal with family that were generally negative about anything you ever said or did?
People might feel ackward at first, since a transgendered person is a rarity. After that, they would probably end up liking or disliking you based on your qualities as a co-worker and nurse. I personally have never (to my knowledge) 'met' a transgendered person, either there aren't any of them around her or they blend in really well.
One thing to remember is not to assume that everyone who dislikes you does so because of your unique sexual identity. It may be for other reasons.
Yes it will cause issues...despite the high-minded statements like "it's what's inside that counts!"...and..."it has no bearing on your work performance!"
A man wearing make-up, or nurse-dresses, or nurse-hats will turn peoples heads and make them giggle and even offend certain people. And i'm betting even non-homophobic (mostly male)-patients will be terribly uncomfortable with you in a role that requires close personal contact.
Through no fault of your own...of course.
You will be talked-about and ridiculed (mostly in secret-behind-your-back) and have lots of negative experiences...
But...I've a hunch you know and expect this...as it probably follows you outside of any workplace.
And...i'm sure you're proud and determined and free and all of that... but, would it pain you to keep your alter-ego/make-up/girl-clothes at home while @ work?
I've only known one openly transgendered person. She's a mom at my daughter's school. When we moved here, she was one of the first people to welcome me and include me at school functions, something I appreciated, as the new mom on the block. I don't know her well, but she is always friendly and willing to visit and doesn't fall into the "cliques" that are rampant at our school. I assume that her own personal struggles with acceptance have made her a friendly and open person, very admirable traits.
The only concern I can think of with a transgendered nurse would be with patients, not co-workers. In a situation where a patient is receiving intimate care (post-partum, for example), the patient may not be comfortable with a caregiver whose sexual identity is not clear. I had surgery last year and returned to the surgeon's office to have sutures removed (from a private area of the body). The male nurse who escorted me to the treatment room took a look at the chart and realized the area of the body involved. He immediately stated that he would trade patients with a female nurse, which I appreciated. Had he been a biological male in the process of transitioning to the female gender (and dressing and living as a female), I would have felt uncomfortable with him continuing to provide care. If he had provided care with me unaware of his status, I may have felt betrayed.
I'm not saying this is fair, or even reasonable, but as someone who values my modesty, I would appreciate a caregiver being clear about his/her gender when providing intimate care. But in reality, this is probably a rare situation, and one that an be worked out. It is certainly not a reason to avoid pursuing a profession that you believe you can excel in.
I have a chronic condition that requires me to be hospitalized 2-3 times a year. I can honestly say that when I am sick and in need of care I don't give a darn who you are or what you look like, so long as you are competent at taking care of my needs in an efficient and courteous way.
I'm not saying that there won't be people who will ask for another nurse, but that could happen with anyone for any given peccadillo that they have, whether it be your race, color, or sex.
I find that generally the sicker the patient, the less likely they are to judge you on anything other than your competence.
I would love to tell you that people are going to acceptive and understanding and everything is going to be butterflies and rainbows, but I'm going to keep it real... There are people out there who are totally ignorant and completely careless (for I am a lesbian and although its not quite the same, I definitely understand being categorized and stereotyped). I've worked with a couple of transexual women before (not in nursing) and I can honestly say that I was surprised at how nasty and deceptive people were. The girls would simply smile in their faces yet throw daggers in their backs, and the guys were all around a$$holes. I actually got into a really heated debate with my male coworkers about how they treated their transexual coworkers. Their point was mostly that they didn't understand it and didn't want a transexual person hitting on them. Totally obnoxious and insanely ignorant! They weren't even trying to hear me out on the matter. But to ride a few coat tails here, I totally agree that your sexuality has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of care you provide to your patients. Please... by all means, follow your dreams! Its not always going to be easy, but if you back out solely based on other people's ignorance, you'll be singing your shoulda coulda woulda's!
Transgender means you are one sex and dress and act like the other? I'm so clueless, sorry. It personally wouldn't bother me either to work with or be a patient of a transgender nurse. Now if you have a shaggy beard, a really deep bass voice, and dress in Tinker Bell scrubs and wear makeup I might be curious about it.....not that I'd be rude enough to ask, and that MAY freak out some patients/coworkers because it IS really different from the norm. I personally would think that was a bit odd, and probably be somewhat uncomfortable with it at first, but I wouldn't ask to change nurses over it.
I just contradicted myself. Ok, I guess it would be a bit freaky at first, but I'd get used to it. It's just different from what I'm used to. Nothing wrong with different, just takes some getting used to. I assume if I were working with a transgender person who had the surgery and really appeared to be that sex, I probably wouldn't even notice a difference. You really got me thinking now.....I guess we as humans like our comfort zones, and anyone who is 'different' than what we're used to kind of shakes up our paradigm. It's good to have one's paradigm shaken occasionally.....keeps us aware!
As far as I am concerned, I wouldn't care about your transgenderedness as long as you look like the sex you identify with.
That said, I worked with a woman whose husband dressed as a woman. Whatever floats his boat, right?
Except he would wear a dress and hose and heels and had a beard and mustache. A very obviously masculine beard and mustache. That tended to freak out a lot of people, and he got a lot of strange looks.
Like I said, other than that, if you look appropriate, I don't care how you dress or how you spend your free time, as long as you are a good nurse when you're working with me!!!!!
Yep...for all I know of, I may have worked with one.
I think you're more likely to run into people who think nursing's an issue because you identify as male than because of your transgenderedness, and for the same reason as your aunt - a limited picture of what nursing is and what nuses should be.
I work in a large metropolitan hospital; as far as I know I haven't worked with any transgendered nurses, though a doctor transitioned during her residency and I don't remember anyone caring either way. Obviously health care work places differ as much as they do in any other industry, but generally I've found most health care workers fairly open about anything that doesn't affect how well staff deliver care, and this doesn't seem to apply.
I've had a number of patients and visitors who've objected to staff looking after them/their families, for a variety of (usually trivial, to me) reasons. There will always be something that sets some folk off, but if every fat/thin/male/female/old/young/Asian/Indian/'foreign'/rushed/loud/quiet/gay/straight/brunette/blonde bimbo/hippy/thinks she's so smart/stupid nurse (off the top of my head objections I've heard recently) left there'd be none of us left.
this is an interesting topic and one i have never really though of. i haven't had the opportunity to work with a transgendered nurse, but i am pretty open minded and i imagine i would be fine with it. i would treat them with the same respect as i show everyone else. i don't know if i can say the same about others, although i can understand why some people would be uncomfortable with the idea.
I've only met one transgendered person in the workplace. she was a porter. everyone knew she was transgendered and there was no issue about it. people were obviously curious about her though. i think you would be a great asset to the profession. like someone already mentioned, we have diverse patients and we also need diverse nurses. good luck with whatever you decide!
I never met a transgendered nurse and if I have, I certainly didn't know. I have no problem with a nurse of the LGBT community. All I care about is that a nurse do their job and give quality nursing care. A good nurse is a good nurse period.
Don't you just love the support of the people on this board! And all of them are right. Just because you are transgendered does not mean you are not entitled to follow your dream! You have the same rights as all of us who chose that path and NOBODY should try to deter you from it. I'd rather have a nurse who is one because that was their dream, than one who became a nurse because they heard it was good money. Go to school, be a nurse, and live your dream!
I am transgendered, and though I have chosen to live my life as the sex I was born (male) as, an argument I had with my aunt tonight has me wondering about some things. She does not think that I should consider getting into the nursing field because the job would "be too intimate and personal" and "I know I wouldn't want a transgendered person taking care of me". I tried to tell her that one's sexual orientation or identified gender have NO BEARING WHATSOEVER on how good a nurse that person may or may not be.
I do agree that a person that obviously looks like a male but is wearing makeup, or that is "flaming", is going to cause some problems with some patients, but in general, no one has "I am really a male" on their name tag. Keeping in mind that I knew nothing about transgenderism back in 1997, I was a CNA back then and when I mentioned that to her she said "well, I didn't think it was an appropriate job for you back then". Grrrr......
What have your experiences been with this sort of thing? Have you noticed transgendered healthcare staff being treated differently be co-workers, management, patients or their family? Has being transgendered caused issues in getting hired? Have you ever had to deal with family that were generally negative about anything you ever said or did?
Hi, I have never had a co-worker who was transgendered though I have a close friend who was an attorney and transitioned from male to female. She gave up her job as an attorney because of difficulty with the legalities and licensing issues.She now works as a grocery store cashier where she is well liked. She lives in Pittsburg and there are some legal protections there for the rights of TG folk along with gays, lesbians and bi-sexuals. Even with this maintaining or regaining her profession is daunting. I had another friend who insisted on working as an auto mechanic in make up and high heels. She could not keep a job. There was no way she could make a living as an entertainer because she was not very attractive in female glam clothes inspite of years of hormones. I have two friends who transitioned female to male. One was a professional who has had much less difficulty passing as a born male, but has had more money to complete surgeries, have counseling etc. The other was a clerical worker with multiple health problems which became much worse after starting male hormones. He died untimely due to heart problems which may have been made worse by hormones and stress.
You said you were born male, I am not clear if you were born with male primary characteristics or emotionally male. If you are of characteristics commonly seen as female but dress male, you will be viewed as a lesbian by most people. If you are of characteristics commonly seen as male but dress female, your appearance will cause you much more difficulty in your profession from getting a job, to interacting with patients and co-workers:banghead:. I have urged my friends who are born with male primary characteristics to play it down in a professional situation and dress more androgenous. Most are not willing to do this. It seems to me to cause them a lot of problems in their lives which could be minimized. No one wants to be born gay in this time of hatred and predjudice and I certainly believe no one wants to be born transgendered, however we play the cards we are dealt and hopefully find joy in this life. It is a lifetime of negotiation in my opinion.
What ever you choose to do, nursing is a fabulous calling. I do believe it is a calling, and if you have got it, go for it!
FireStarterRN, BSN, RN
3,824 Posts
People might feel ackward at first, since a transgendered person is a rarity. After that, they would probably end up liking or disliking you based on your qualities as a co-worker and nurse. I personally have never (to my knowledge) 'met' a transgendered person, either there aren't any of them around her or they blend in really well.
One thing to remember is not to assume that everyone who dislikes you does so because of your unique sexual identity. It may be for other reasons.