Gay / Lesbian patient resources for nurses?

Nurses General Nursing

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are there any resources that you know of on the web that discuss care of glbt patients? how do you find gay / lesbian nurses are treated at work in the hospitals? is there any difference how how patients treat them?

moderator note: returning this thread to view. posts that veered well off the original nursing topic of issues related to glbt patients and staff were culled. we ask that this thread not be used to argue morality questions or other issues. - ratched
I've had a few jobs, and fortunately in my experience I've found nurses and health care workers in the hospital to be very tolerant and understanding. I'm way out of the closet at work and have experienced hardly any negativity or homophobia. The hospital I work for has it written in their non-discrimination policy do not discriminate based on sexual preference.

I'd much rather work in health care than construction, business, sports or other more homophobic environments. Or environments where there is a "don't ask/don't tell" type of feeling, where gays are o.k. as long as they don't act gay or talk about it.

I'm sorry to hear that's been your experience.

It has been my experience too, that healthcare is one of the most "tolerant".

steph

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
But how can we educate and stop such discrimination as I just discribed.

Why wasn't it reported is my question. Not the DON or anything. The president of the hospital. Heck if that's going to be plastered on that man's chart, it should be plastered on everyones, since we truly don't know where everyone has been and what they've been doing.

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Hello, All

Happy New Year to everyone and I hope you ae not sufferring from the celebration too much.

I think some of the posts are informative for people to understand another culture.

On the other hand, I feel that a class is needed to provide sensitivity to culture, religon, sexual orientation, ethnicity, financial, and other. Why does the nursing profession show ignorance or prejudice or a better word insensivity to those nurses or patients that are not like them? Can anyone tell me? I have heard so many opinions and judgements in the nursing profession. And the attitudes and negative should stop as soon as possible. Numerous of the nurses have never face prejudice or ignorance in their life. However, nurses can express it as quick as a blink. I thought as a nurse no judgements, assumptions, prejudice or negative activity are shown on the job so to speak. The nurses are neutral and treat everyone with respect, honesty and caring. Where has it gone? I do not understand it at all.

I believe nurses need to attend a sensitivity classes as a profession. We really do not take cultural classes as a requirement and we should due to the variety of population we face each day.

I will not throw needless syringes at anyone or place tape on the hairy part of the arm and pull it off. Because it will not reolve a thing. Education is the key and learning from each other and our patients. Not assuming or making judgements or placing our values on another and/or saying negative things about our patients and co-workers. Therefore, Sensitivity classes should be place in the academics for nurses and educating patients and coworkers.

I must say that as an ex correctional nurse, the gays/lesbians were never separated from other inmates. I think that show was OZ and not in our place. Everyone is interacting with everyone. If you are place in seclusion than you are section 302, behavioral problems, child sex offender as well as raping an eldery and the courts order it. Therefore, not all prision isolate alternative life styles and everyone repected each other no matter what.

Have a great New Years day!

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
but a persons sexual orientation can have a lot do with things. consider these issues...visiting your partner in the hospital, making decisions for your partner if they are sick or injured, healthcare providers assuming you are heterosexual. .

the biggest issue i see for same sex couples is the fact that they still are not allowed to legally marry in most states. it's fairly straightforward for heterosexual couples: either you're married or you're not. if you're married, you are each other's legal next of kin; if not, you're not. unless you've put the appropriate paperwork into place.

same sex couples aren't allowed the option to marry, and unfortunately, many of them have not put the appropriate paperwork into place. in washington state, you can assign your partner legal power of attorney for health care just by signing the paper in front of two witnesses. no notary required. it's quick, easy, and any nurse can help you with it. in other states, it's not so easy.

i have no problem with the patient's partner visiting, making decisions for them, asking for information, etc. as long as the paperwork is in place. and i'm the first to suggest that they fill out the paperwork. however, if the patient for some reason does not want to designate the partner as poa or give them any legal status, the patient's mother can come into the situation later, when the patient is intubated, sedated or otherwise unable to object, and banish the partner. and there's nothing i can do about it. as much as it breaks my heart to see the long term partner banished from the hospital, i can't countermand the legal next of kin's decision.

now if we could just let anyone who is not already married marry the partner of their choice, a lot of these issues would be moot.

ruby (happily married and wishing the same for everyone regardless of sexual orientation!)

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Interesting thread...thanks for the information. At our hospital, we do provide private rooms for the transgendered patients that have NOT undergone surgery to complete the change. This is for their privacy. As to gay and lesbian care, in the ER at least, especially if it is a code or some type of resuscitation event, we always ask who will be making decisions. If it is not the legal next of kin (IL does not allow same-sex marriage), we ask for POA paperwork. This is to protect us as well as provide for the wishes of the patient.

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Discrimination based on someone's sexual preference is against the law...........doubt it is tolerated anywhere.

Unfortunately, this isn't true in all states. In NC, sexual preference isn't added to the list of protections against discrimination unless a company adds it by free choice to their employment practices. I was fired 5 years ago from a job (not in healthcare) for being a lesbian.

But the experience did at least teach me to research a potential employer's policies and history of such things before accepting employment.

Now if we could just get more domestic partner benefits down here in the good ol' South.

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Now if we could just get more domestic partner benefits down here in the good ol' South.

Don't hold your breath.

The South is fighting strong to keep us "in our place."

Prop. 2 just passed here in TX and it looks like the mentality is only going to spread.

Now as far as patient resources go, I don't know if someone already mentioned it, but way too many gay people do not understand how to protect themselves legally even in the face of gay marriage bans.

POA, advance directives, etc. things get real ugly when someone's partner ends up in ICU on a vent.

In walks the parents or siblings, and out goes the partner, as they often have no rights or recourse if things aren't handled before a catastrophic illness or event.

Too many wait until after the event and then it's often too late.

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.
Unfortunately, this isn't true in all states. In NC, sexual preference isn't added to the list of protections against discrimination unless a company adds it by free choice to their employment practices. I was fired 5 years ago from a job (not in healthcare) for being a lesbian.

But the experience did at least teach me to research a potential employer's policies and history of such things before accepting employment.

Now if we could just get more domestic partner benefits down here in the good ol' South.

Wow, I am so sorry for such rotten experience. Hope you are at a better place now :kiss

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
Originally Posted by Future_RN_Jess

Discrimination based on someone's sexual preference is against the law...........doubt it is tolerated anywhere.

Jess, I love you madly, but what planet are you living on? Sexual preference discrimination is alive and well, and legal.

It's so much better and much more isolated that it was.

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I would agree with dapototi.

In the whole of my nursing career as a gay man my sexuality has never been an issue.As a profesional I treat patients,relatives and colleagues in a professional manner.

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I am so glad to see this topic up for discussion. First let me suggest that we see if we can get allnurses.com to add GLBT to the forums that in itself would be a great idea. We are a sub-culture. There are many things that we face that are different from a straight culture. Many of these things have been mentioned.

Please bear with me I don't know how to do the quotes thing. Someone posted about seperating GLBT patients. That is segragation. Period. I can understand why believe me I do. Last year my daughter and my ex-gf were wrestling and my daughter headbutted her and knocked her out. I took her to ER. They admitted her to a unit. She is very butch in her appearance and mannerism. They were going to put her in with an older woman. This was the only bed left with a roomate. When we got to the floor I suggested to the Charge RN, whom I knew, that they give her a private room. This solved the problem of "freaking" out a roommate. Where there is a will there is a way.

There are websites for all sorts of cultural nursing yet I have not found any for our culture. I would love to assist in setting this up as much as I can.

I am not "out" at work. I am single but am very close iwth my ex. She is still my best friend. She has a crossover name so when talkiung about her its easy for me to let them assume what they want. I do this becasue the first hospital I worked at the nurses were so homophobic is scared me. I had a gay pt when I was in my last semester of nursing school and he was showing myself and the RN i was working with the magazines his friend dropped off ....they were local GLBT mags. I said something about that and the RN was like they are what. Let me see those. She was appaulled that they were brought into the hospital. Now these were not Media mags but lifestyle mags with articles such as keeping safe, etc.

However we decide to come out to staff and patients its our choice. Kudos to those who have been fortunate enough to not have had any problems. I have not because I chose to stay in the closet. Although my former classmates prob wished I would ahve in school. Every paper and speech we had to give i did it on nursing and added some part of the GLBT culture. Many of them ahve since thanked me becuase they remembered some of my words and saw that I was just a person and not someone for them to be afraid of. :balloons:

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I forgot to mention. Please pm me if anyone is interested in starting up some sort of web based site for such a topic I would be more then willing to help. Dawn

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