No consideration for gay patients

Published

I go to nursing school in Indianapolis, IN and my school never discusses special considerations for homosexual patients. Many problems do have special considerations that would have to be taken into mind if the patient were a gay. I am gay and I think it is slightly offensive. I feel like the education that my school is providing will churn out the type of "professionals" that will perpetuate the discrimination against gay patients in the healthcare market in America. Does anyone have any thoughts?

gay or not, black or white, old or young, skinny or fat, all have the same need, they are ill and there for you to care about them! take in consideration the patients needs and abide by your training!

I agree, I have never asked a pt their sexual desires, nor will I ever, it is simply not appriopiate.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

There ARE special considerations to be taken for ALL patients. Sorry for the person that said that they couldn't think of special considerations for gay patients: THERE ARE. Just as there would be special considerations for a woman with ovarian cancer or a black man with COPD. They have social identities that are going to intersect (race, class, gender, sexual orientation ALL affect someone's "filter" of how they see the world) and if you don't GET that, you are going to **** all over the Nurse/Patient relationship, lose their trust, and potentially influence their health outcome in a negative way.

Jbeau, please don't apologize for me.

You say there are special considerations...what are they?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Family Practice, Primary Care.

AirforceRN, it would depend on the person, exactly what I said in my post. Nursing care isn't a one size fits all.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Thank you for your concern. I am not in the least bit offended. My point is that that the community uses "gay," "lesbian," "qu--r" (the word I prefer, but I think it is not permitted on these forums, that is why I use LGBTGQ which is truly a hideous mouthful that is useless in spoken English but convenient in written English).

"Homosexual" is just not used by "homosexuals" with the exception of some of our seniors. For many of us it congers up images of Anita Bryant and Fred Phelps (the sort of "I call them homosexual, because their lifestyle is anything but 'gay'" rhetoric) If I hear it in general conversation I think "oh, they're straight -" But if I hear it in a healthcare setting I think "uh-oh, do these folks have a clue about my reality?" The experience is sort of like being in a foreign country.

Would that all nurses and docs treated the people they serve with dignity and respect! The sad reality is that when I pick up the newspaper I read about the Lesbian couple that were denied IVF because the doc thought it immoral to provide it. One reads with regularity about same sex partners denied access to each other in hospitals because they are not "family." Fairly recently there was an article in the NY Times about LGBTGQ seniors in LTC - there were horror stories about nurses trying to "convert" clients away from their "sin," and about a woman who was not permitted to be with her partner on her as she died (not "family") Stuff like this makes Q people nervous when the go to the hospital. While this may not happen where you work, it happens.

what is LGBTGQ????? and why do i feel like we're beating a dead horse here??

Up Vote Up Vote ×
what is LGBTGQ????? and why do i feel like we're beating a dead horse here??

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, TransGendered, Queer.

I think you are right.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice, Rehab.
I would have thought that special consideration to discussion about gay relationships in nursing school WOULD be considered politically incorrect. If they're teaching how to treat male and female pt's and what to test for...then why are special considerations needed? If they are monogomous..straight or gay...there are less risks than if not.

Our school never really discussed gay/straight..but they went to lengths to discuss "nonjudgemental nursing" and I feel that was fine.

Steve mentioned the article from Advance which was cited above. The GLBT community has its own culture and values, which impact patient care at both the patient and community health levels. It's not the testing or benefits of monogamy that differentiate the GLBT community, it's barriers and perception.

Treating GLBT patients "just like" everyone else can communicate a lack of individual caring. Does anyone really want to seek care from a caregiver that is not paying attention to the individual? Orientation is not as visible as race, gender, or ethnicity.

There is also imbalance in what community health issues are attended to within the GLBT community. An example cited earlier may help. Lesbians access OB-GYN preventive services less frequently than heterosexual women. Because of this, there is more delayed detection of reproductive and breast cancer in the Lesbian community. Nurses as educators can help address this by knowing their patient is in this group and including the extra information about the risks and issues.

Nursing school, especially the ADN programs are jam-packed. We do find time to discuss culturally appropriate nursing. We're not talking about acceptance of a lifestyle or culture but awareness of the differences in health perceptions. Non-judgemental nursing is what makes it possible for us to be open to the patient as a whole being and allows us to open the door. Once the door is open, we shouldn't be empty handed.

If we can spend time on learning about Russian cultural perceptions, I think we should be able to work in the LGBT culture as well.

The learning...and teaching...never end! I love being a nurse because of this.:twocents:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

There is also imbalance in what community health issues are attended to within the GLBT community. An example cited earlier may help. Lesbians access OB-GYN preventive services less frequently than heterosexual women. Because of this, there is more delayed detection of reproductive and breast cancer in the Lesbian community. Nurses as educators can help address this by knowing their patient is in this group and including the extra information about the risks and issues.

Now that was a good post! Thank you! The above paragraph really struck me. I had no idea about the OB GYN aspect with respect to lesbians, but its a great thing to learn and definately a "special consideration" to think about when dealing with that population.

Thanks.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Now that was a good post! Thank you! The above paragraph really struck me. I had no idea about the OB GYN aspect with respect to lesbians, but its a great thing to learn and definately a "special consideration" to think about when dealing with that population.

Thanks.

Makes sense, since they rarely need birth control.

The women's health clinic in the town where I went to college once promoted a "Free Pap smears for lesbians" evening and I wondered, "How would they prove they're lesbians? Do they bring their Lesbian Registration Card or what?"

I told someone about that, and he said, "They brought their toasters." My facial expression must have been quite blank, so he explained that it was from an "Ellen" episode where lesbians who opened accounts at a certain bank got a toaster.

:bugeyes:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
.... Many problems do have special considerations that would have to be taken into mind if the patient were a gay. ....

Yikes! "Were a gay..." I meant, "were gay." I cannot believe I wrote that! As someone who is gay, I would never refer to someone who was gay as "a gay." Made me laugh re-reading it though. Typo! Sorry. :banghead:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

There is also imbalance in what community health issues are attended to within the GLBT community. An example cited earlier may help. Lesbians access OB-GYN preventive services less frequently than heterosexual women. Because of this, there is more delayed detection of reproductive and breast cancer in the Lesbian community. Nurses as educators can help address this by knowing their patient is in this group and including the extra information about the risks and issues.

Well, the way I see it, the gay community can't have it both ways.

They can't scream that they are "just people" in "normal loving relationships", picket for the same rights in marriages, choosing your partner, etc...and then scream "We want special treatment" on what they pick and choose.

Again, I am 100% SUPPORTIVE OF GAY RIGHTS..but that is EQUAL rights, not superior rights. I don't support "superior rights" for any culture, including my own.

Like another supporter said...no way would I ever ask someone what their sexual preference is...it is 100% irrelevant. I have seen women who wear mens clothes, have the stereotypical mullet, and are NOT gay...can you imagine asking a question to someone like that and be wrong?

Not a chance I'm willing to take.

For the issue of Lebians not getting pap smears....that is NOT a gay issue, that is a women's health issue. ANY client, gay or straight, that you notice isn't getting yearly pap smears, breast exams done by a healthcare professional, needs to be educated on the importance of it. ANYONE. That is a totally separate issue from birth control.

This is where people, that are homophobic, start thinking that the gay community is on an agenda.

I still have yet to see, in all these posts, a single issue that affects gays only that doesn't EQUALLY impact the heterosexual population.

Not one.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Well, the way I see it, the gay community can't have it both ways.

They can't scream that they are "just people" in "normal loving relationships", picket for the same rights in marriages, choosing your partner, etc...and then scream "We want special treatment" on what they pick and choose.

Again, I am 100% SUPPORTIVE OF GAY RIGHTS..but that is EQUAL rights, not superior rights. I don't support "superior rights" for any culture, including my own.

Like another supporter said...no way would I ever ask someone what their sexual preference is...it is 100% irrelevant. I have seen women who wear mens clothes, have the stereotypical mullet, and are NOT gay...can you imagine asking a question to someone like that and be wrong?

Not a chance I'm willing to take.

For the issue of Lebians not getting pap smears....that is NOT a gay issue, that is a women's health issue. ANY client, gay or straight, that you notice isn't getting yearly pap smears, breast exams done by a healthcare professional, needs to be educated on the importance of it. ANYONE. That is a totally separate issue from birth control.

This is where people, that are homophobic, start thinking that the gay community is on an agenda.

I still have yet to see, in all these posts, a single issue that affects gays only that doesn't EQUALLY impact the heterosexual population.

Not one.

Hopeful, I am sorry that you are just not getting it. It is not special treatment or rights that we are even discussing here. It is cultrally competent care. In my original post, where did I demand any rights at all. I just stated that special considerations have to be had for these patients because they are a subgroup of the population that has special issues. Homophobia of healthcare personnel in this country is the start of it and the issues continue from there. African American are not given calcium-channel blockers and that is a special consideration. Now, gays come in all colors and both sexes, but being gay does mean that there still are special considerations that have to be considered because the person is gay.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Hopeful, I am sorry that you are just not getting it. It is not special treatment or rights that we are even discussing here. It is cultrally competent care. In my original post, where did I demand any rights at all. I just stated that special considerations have to be had for these patients because they are a subgroup of the population that has special issues. Homophobia of healthcare personnel in this country is the start of it and the issues continue from there. African American are not given calcium-channel blockers and that is a special consideration. Now, gays come in all colors and both sexes, but being gay does mean that there still are special considerations that have to be considered because the person is gay.

I don't see how listing all the differences between the 2 lifestyles is going to help though. I'm all for affording everyone culturally competent care, but people are individuals and having a small group of somewhat out of touch professionals writing down a bunch of issues or concerns that are sure to be stereotypical and not helpful at all isn't going to increase the quality of care. I couldn't believe the stuff written in my foundations of nursing text about african americans (news flash! we are not all prone to voodoo and witch doctors, or have a "big mama", no father in the home, eat dirt while pregnant, or become offended when asked about our personal circumstances during a health history). These things are just some of the outrageous "cultural competency" training that was included in my text. Not to mention what was said about asians, native americans, and latinos. You really don't want these people coming up with a list of things to "help" nursing students provide culturally competent care to the gay community. It will probably do more harm than good and perpetuate stereotypes. I think encouraging critical thinking and kindness and compassion and recognizing individualism would be a far better idea.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion