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?
On my cardiology unit, we get nursing students every semester. The students are always happy to work with me, the nursing instructors are always happy to see me. My personality hasn't changed since my transition, I just look a little different. I'm still the same gentle and caring person I was before. If your personality and skill have a chance to shine, you should do well.
Specializes in ER preceptorship, almost a year on PCU..
Hi. I'm a transgender nursing student about to graduate in 2 weeks and I completed my transition (female to male) before I began school. Three of my classmates know -- one had a feeling because she'd known a few transguys before me, one found out from her brother's friend who knew my brother, and one found out becase she was with me when I got my medical records of the operation from the hospital one clinical day. None have had any issue with it. The only problem I run into from having started with a female body is being short (5'2") and bigger eyes than the average guy, which makes me look really young and patients are always telling me I look 16 on a good day! However, it has never been an issue with classmates, employers, co-workers, or patients.
There is a transgendered person at the hospital here in the lab. She used to be male, then underwent *some* changes to become female, but hasn't taken the final step/surgery. She is obviously half man/half woman, so yes, she draws lots of strange looks and comments. I worked with her on a code last week and it did not bother me one bit. I don't care what she does or "is". She's a good worker as far as I could tell.
EqualityMe
3 Posts
On my cardiology unit, we get nursing students every semester. The students are always happy to work with me, the nursing instructors are always happy to see me. My personality hasn't changed since my transition, I just look a little different. I'm still the same gentle and caring person I was before. If your personality and skill have a chance to shine, you should do well.