Gay / Lesbian patient resources for nurses?

[glbtnurse]

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

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Sissy is gay. She has a girlfriend... Stacy. I'd give my retirement if she would fall in love with a man. NOT because it is better to be in love with a man but instead... it is SAFER to be in love with a man.

Believe me, I have told Sissy that if we can put a man on the moon, we can put a man on her. She disagrees. Okay... so be it. The fact remains, it is safer for our overall physical well being if someone is straight.

If one is gay, one is gay. Period, the end. It doesn't mean the rational folks in this world feel it is a bad thing. Nurses don't like those that don't fit the mold. (I'm gonna get slammed, just watch) But you know what? It's true.

To be a well liked {not talked about} nurse, you have to be female, married to a male (prefers a person in medicine) and FEMALE through and through. Gay doesn't cut the mustard.

I'm not claiming this is right or that I agree. I AM claiming this is my experience and opinion.

You're absolute right. Nurses are part of society and society likes straight. It's the norm, it's safer.

Too bad. I'm not going to fit the mold because that's just what nurses and other people are comfortable with. Nurses and society have to change, (or at the very least educate yourself and be tolerate and accepting) not me. End of discussion. :rotfl:

[Really An Actress]

"Tone it down"? That's one of the most homophobic comments I've ever heard. You mean stay in the closet, don't you?

In my experience health care workers are among the most intolerant of the GLBT community. It's very sad, really, that racist or homophobic nurses can think they can hold hateful thoughts and still believe they give the same good care to their patients.

Bipley, I would advise you not to try to change someone's sexuality. It's a waste of your time and can be construed as hostile. I'd advise you to read statistics on domestic abuse before you decide it's safer for a woman to be in love with a man.

And hondurena wants gays and lesbians separated? Because they're like prisoners?

GLBTNurse, sounds like a great idea.

Medicrnohio, I'm sorry about the discrimination you are facing.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

"Tone it down"? That's one of the most homophobic comments I've ever heard. You mean stay in the closet, don't you?

No, when i think of "tone it down," i think of the people at work that go into the DETAILS of just WHAT or who they did last night :stone. Straight or not, ther are a few at work that just assume that people in the room are just dying to know.

[medicrnohio, RN]

Really an actress,

No need for you to be sorry about any discrimination I have faced. I only shared as a means to show why it is important for healthcare providers to educate themselves on the needs of the glbt community.

I think we are getting away from the topics posted by the OP. The way I understood that first post was that the poster was looking for glbt resources and wanted to know how gay and lesbian nurses are treated at work by patients and coworkers.

[sjrn85]

No, I think what hondurena was saying is that moving a transgendered pt. into a room with another pt. could cause serious discomfort for that pt. I personally would be very uncomfortable sharing a room with a transgendered pt.; then again, I don't like sharing a hospital room with anyone. But for a confused elderly pt. to have to share a room with a transgendered pt.; sorry, not fair to that elderly pt.

Why not just assign transgendered pts. private rooms? For that matter, I know a lot of men would not want to share a room with a gay male pt., and women who would not want to share a room with a lesbian. We're not going to pick a time when people are sick and vulnerable to start trying to make a point. Peoples' minds have to changed over time, and trying to force the issue in a hospital setting is disrespectful to everyone.

Ready to be flamed...

[hondurena]

Lets face we live in a beautiful and diverse country--- our differences and similarities make us who we are. Did i say gay/lesbians were like prisoners--- absolutely not the comparison was in reference to an article about a NYC prison which separates gay/lesbian inmates--- for safety from other prisoners who are not accepting of their lifestyle. I DONT MAKE THE RULES

I said tone it down--- whether you stay in the closet or not is up to you. At work as nurses we need to be professionals--- no where in my nurse practice act does it say to divulge my sexual prefernce to my patients. Nursing is complex enough between assessments, admissions, meds, notes, ct scans, rounds, and discharges i can't even talk to my pts for long periods of times sometimes. The little chance i get to talk to them is used wisely to assess their status, report appropriately to the physician -- so they can be d/c and spend the holidays with their family. I have never seen a fevers reduced-b/p stabilized-infections resolved-viruses killed-dysrhythmias converted---lives saved ----

I dont know of any patient who got better from the therapy of hearing his/her nurses sexual preference/practices. More patient centered care and stop worrying about am i a boy or a girl:uhoh21: . Off shift is our time to work out our issues. It's damn ridiculuous--- if I get a penile implant should go in to work and display it to my patients-- OOOOHHH Wooohhhh look what this girl got for christmas. Come on people:uhoh3:

[Really An Actress]

Patients are unaccepting of their roommates for all kinds of reasons- their color, religion, their diagnosis, their visitors, their odors, their treatments etc. I did not see you suggest that patients be segregated because their presence annoys the safety of their roommates for these reasons. Why should gays and lesbians should put in their own section?

And heterosexuals never make casual conversation to their patients about their spouses or family life? Remarking that you vacationed at the same place your patient broke his arm with your spouse is not different than it would be if you mentioned you and your partner just vacationed there. That's not "divulging sexual preference". That's simply being nice to your patient. If your co-workers go beyond that and talk about their sex life, then you have a good case for sexual harrassment. That's a separate issue I suggest you take up with your manager or administrator.

I'm not sure where your prospective sex change analogy fits into all of this.

Medicrnohio, this is a perfect example of how GLBT are treated at work by co-workers. A nurse just posted her "solution" to patients who almost code when they have to room with a transexual. Her answer is to keep them separate and out of sight "for their own safety" (remember the "Don't ask, don't tell policy"?) instead of assuring the homophobic that cross -dressing isn't contagious.

[Really An Actress]

So how soon can we get this resource out to nurses?

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

In my experience health care workers are among the most intolerant of the GLBT community.

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.

[gypsyatheart]

Lets face we live in a beautiful and diverse country--- our differences and similarities make us who we are. Did i say gay/lesbians were like prisoners--- absolutely not the comparison was in reference to an article about a NYC prison which separates gay/lesbian inmates--- for safety from other prisoners who are not accepting of their lifestyle. I DONT MAKE THE RULES

I said tone it down--- whether you stay in the closet or not is up to you. At work as nurses we need to be professionals--- no where in my nurse practice act does it say to divulge my sexual prefernce to my patients. Nursing is complex enough between assessments, admissions, meds, notes, ct scans, rounds, and discharges i can't even talk to my pts for long periods of times sometimes. The little chance i get to talk to them is used wisely to assess their status, report appropriately to the physician -- so they can be d/c and spend the holidays with their family. I have never seen a fevers reduced-b/p stabilized-infections resolved-viruses killed-dysrhythmias converted---lives saved ----

I dont know of any patient who got better from the therapy of hearing his/her nurses sexual preference/practices. More patient centered care and stop worrying about am i a boy or a girl:uhoh21: . Off shift is our time to work out our issues. It's damn ridiculuous--- if I get a penile implant should go in to work and display it to my patients-- OOOOHHH Wooohhhh look what this girl got for christmas. Come on people:uhoh3:

Well, I can see where this person is coming from, what she's trying to say. I agree, we are already so busy w/our assessments, treatments, meds, orders, etc..... And we have so many culturally different backgrounds to deal with... If gay people want to be or feel they should be included as culturally different, fine. But, I guess the issue is....how does my nursing care change for a gay person vs. a straight person? For example, in L&D I deal w/many, many lesbian women/couples giving birth via artificial means. Does my nursing care differ for that lesbian patient vs the straight woman in the next room? No, my assessments, my priorities are the same for both women, my teaching and guidance will be appropriate for their stage of labor and delivery, regardless of their sexual orientation. And this has also been my experience in NICU and Peds (parental issues, obviously).

As for the nurses, CNM's, NP's, MD's, etc. Well how much of your sexual business you divulge at work is up to you. I hear many conversations that are extremely graphic and sometimes, quite frankly, inappropriate for the workplace. Personally, I keep the majority of my personal business to myself. Others can't wait to blab it all....go figure. As for gays feeling discriminated against in the workplace...well, I think that is society in general. Overall, I think healthcare is more accepting of gay/lesbian than other areas....

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

In my experience health care workers are among the most intolerant of the GLBT community.

I can't really agree with this. In my experience they've been the most supportive.

[glbtnurse]

If anyone cares to join me in setting up a GLBT nursing publication for nursing education purposes please send me a private message. I think it would be beneficial to has dialogue on this issue because there are obviously differing view points.

I think the goal of studying homophobia and GLBT specific patient issues ie) high suicide rates in GLBT youth populations, is to ensure that they are treated like everyone else (being attentive to their specific needs). Even though many nurses / doctors that are comfortable with GLBT nurses and patients (treat them like everyone else) I honestly believe that there are many that 'tolerate' the lifestyle grudgenly simply because they are in an environment where everyone is dependent on one another.

I'll give you an example of what makes me upset:

I went to talk to a patient in the OR to perform my preoperative assessment. I opened the chart and written everywhere in red pen is homosexual - high risk for HIV / Hep C, tested negative, caution. I have operated on many people, from all walks of life ( known substance abusers, with HIV, with Hep C etc ) but the nurses on the wards have usually written in the appropriate section ( known HIV risk or Hep c +ve). I was disgusted with how it was plastered all over the place especially seeing how he was just tested and proven to be negative. Why was he treated differently? I know promiscious unprotected sexual behavior that is often associated with the GLBT population places you at risk for such diseases and I am not disputing that. But how can we educate and stop such discrimination as I just discribed. I felt sorry for this man because he read through his own chart, he knew what people were thinking , and I had to apoligise for the actions of others.