Please re-assign if more suited in another thread. Thank you.
This Law, link below, was ratified in California. This law, as it appears to me, is an opening for many issues in a LTAC scenario. To Quote:
"The bill would require a violation of these provisions to be treated as a violation under the Long-Term Care, Health, Safety, and Security Act of 1973, the California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act, or specified provisions providing for the licensure and regulation of health facilities, which may include the imposition of civil penalties. By expanding the definition of existing crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program."
And,
"According to "Stories from the Field: LGBT Older Adults in Long-Term Care Facilities," a 2011 study published by the National Senior Citizens Law Center, these issues have gone unaddressed. In that study, 43 percent of respondents reported personally witnessing or experiencing instances of mistreatment of LGBT seniors in a long-term care facility, including all of the following: being refused admission or readmission, being abruptly discharged, verbal or physical harassment from staff, staff refusal to accept medical power of attorney from the resident's spouse or partner, discriminatory restrictions on visitation, and staff refusal to refer to a transgender resident by his or her preferred name or pronoun."
One of my concerns are the Patient identifiers we use before any medication or procedure. Say the Pt is giving a name as "Amy" but his/her name is "Andy" on the hospital band. Would this be considered a medication error? Are we then to perform HCG tests on all Pt. who identify as Female? Will insurance not want to pay us for using the incorrect pronouns in the nurse's notes? I'm worried about how far this rabbit hole will go.
I in my personal career use terms such as "Gal", "Bud", and "Bubby" (for children). I understand that these even are frowned on in the clinical setting, however I find that it increases the sense of moral with the Pt and Pt family when using this nomenclature.
I am interested to read all views, but am especially interested if nurses have seen this in action yet.
