Tolerance and acceptace of gay nurses and patients

Nurses Relations

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There has been news recently of a transgender teen who committed suicide because her parents did not accept her and she felt society didn't, either. With that in mind, I started thinking about nursing culture and attitudes towards those who have alternative sexual orientations. How would this teen have been treated at our facility if she came in with an illness? Would we have treated her with respect? Would we have remembered to call her by her preferred name (obviously still checking name band with legal name)? What would have been our private thoughts about this patient: a messed-up kid, or a kid who knows who they are?

I have noticed -- and maybe it's just the area where I live -- that nurses seem to be tolerant and judgmental towards nurses of diverse cultures and backgrounds and disabilities, but when it comes to being homosexual there seems to be a lack of acceptance. There are a couple of nurses who have confided in me that other nurse coworkers are "probably gay" and list the reasons they think that. We have two openly gay staff and I have never seen them treated poorly because of this, but the ones who are "probably gay" are.

When I bring up the topic in a general way some nurses are offended or have strong opinions. One of my late-night talks with another nurse (charting at our stations) was about what we would do if one of our children revealed themselves to be gay. We were both agreeing that we would be accepting of it, but another nurse spoke out very strongly that none of her kids would ever be gay. Two others, who belong to a conservative religious movement that's big in our area decided they would get up and leave the conversation altogether.

When we've had a couple of peds patients with gay parents, I have been given a report that mentions that fact in a very judgmental way. When I was in nursing school I took care of a man with a male partner and found the same attitude existed with some of the nurses. To be fair, other nurses are very respectful but enough are not that it's bothersome.

I live in an area with many illegal immigrants who don't speak English and are non-paying patients. They are never treated any less for having this status, and I'm proud of that fact. They are sick, they have rights, and they and their families deserve respect. We have patients from different religious backgrounds and the parents wear traditional attire, and we make sure they are served food and have their times of prayer accommodated. We pass on cultural needs but I have never heard it mentioned in a derogatory way or with the eye rolls that accompany reports of the patients with gay parents. I have never seen medical care affected by this, but the attitude is there.

Has anyone else encountered this? What can be done about it?

I live in an area with a sharp division between the 'liberal and conservative' crowd, thanks to my city hosting a liberal arts college and an older than average population. So far I've not experienced or even witnessed gay-bashing. My co-workers were the 20 and 30 somethings, and as a group in SPITE of religious beliefs, they remained professional and nonjudgmental. The older-er than me co-workers tended to be more outspoken and negative. I figure they will die off eventually.

Specializes in Acute Care Pediatrics.

Wow, I live and work in the South - and work with several homosexual nurses. The only thing that happens when one of our patients has homosexual parents is "There are two mommies at bedside", instead of Mom and Dad are at bedside. We have an openly transgender RN in the hospital as well that transitioned on the job. Obviously she wouldn't be working if there was a feeling of judgement or intolerance towards her. I'm shocked that it's still so prevalent. I don't see it *at all*.

Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

I have worked with openly gay co workers and have never really seen anyone treat them poorly because of that. I have had openly gay patients and have never seen anyone treat them poorly due to that. My son goes to school with a kid that had two mom's and not an issue. You usually only see one of his mom's drop him off and pick him up. These two ladies are very loving parents and are great with their son who has sensory issues.

My thoughts are if your are nice to me I will be nice to you. Simple as that.

Specializes in Inpatient Oncology/Public Health.

We had a transgender patient recently and everyone seemed to treat the patient respectfully and use the right name/pronouns, etc.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
I live in Massachusetts. I have not encountered this from nursing staff. I have always worked with gay co-workers- when they got married or had babies, the same work celebrations were held as when straight co-workers did. Working in pediatrics, I've had many patients with 2 moms or 2 dads over the years. I consider it to be a non-issue. The only time we had an issue- in the hospital- was when one of our patients with 2 dads was in a double room. Her roommate's parents happened to be bigoted and when they overheard a conversation or picked up on the fact that there was a child in the second bedspace who was being raised by 2 men they requested a room change. So we moved the other patient and put a parentless screaming baby in with the family who complained. We weren't going to subject one of the nicest families we'd ever had on the floor to that kind of bigotry when their baby was very sick.

This just made my day!:yes:

There's a thread in here somewhere about the beginning of the AIDS epidemic and nursing care then. I am thankful to report that the homophobia and disgraceful treatment of some of those unfortunates that was, if not universal then, at least not uncommon, is pretty much gone now.

I live in Massachusetts. I have not encountered this from nursing staff. I have always worked with gay co-workers- when they got married or had babies, the same work celebrations were held as when straight co-workers did. Working in pediatrics, I've had many patients with 2 moms or 2 dads over the years. I consider it to be a non-issue. The only time we had an issue- in the hospital- was when one of our patients with 2 dads was in a double room. Her roommate's parents happened to be bigoted and when they overheard a conversation or picked up on the fact that there was a child in the second bedspace who was being raised by 2 men they requested a room change. So we moved the other patient and put a parentless screaming baby in with the family who complained. We weren't going to subject one of the nicest families we'd ever had on the floor to that kind of bigotry when their baby was very sick.

I love this, too. (Except for the parentless baby part)

Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

I currently work with an openly gay nurse, have worked with a transgendered nurse, and countless LGBTQ patients in the past; I treat everyone how I want to be treated; however, I have had certain co-workers treat LGBTQ patients by NOT treating them; they revealed this during my care. It was a shock to me, since the hospital that I worked was a part of a major metro area with a very diverse population. :no: I have not encountered this treatment at least in the last ten years, so I am grateful for that.

Because of the health disparities that come with transgendered pts-I believe the mortality rate is in the 40s, at least in my area-I got this statistic during a conference I attended about domestic violence-and there is only one practitioner that specializes in treating transgendered pts, I would love to be a provider for transgendered pts as a NP, when I cross that bridge; until then, I will try to provide resources and support my pts the best way possible. :yes:

Specializes in MDS/ UR.
I live in Massachusetts. I have not encountered this from nursing staff. I have always worked with gay co-workers- when they got married or had babies, the same work celebrations were held as when straight co-workers did. Working in pediatrics, I've had many patients with 2 moms or 2 dads over the years. I consider it to be a non-issue. The only time we had an issue- in the hospital- was when one of our patients with 2 dads was in a double room. Her roommate's parents happened to be bigoted and when they overheard a conversation or picked up on the fact that there was a child in the second bedspace who was being raised by 2 men they requested a room change. So we moved the other patient and put a parentless screaming baby in with the family who complained. We weren't going to subject one of the nicest families we'd ever had on the floor to that kind of bigotry when their baby was very sick.

I am probably going to get hissed at for saying this....

I have a problem with this remedy becauses the child of the disrespectful parents is punished.

I also cringe at the thought that a 'screaming baby with no parents' would be used a tool for payback for disrespectful parents.

I get the sentiment but these actions involve using patients as pawns.

I think more appropriate means could be found to deal with this situation,

Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

When I graduated in 1971 my first job was at a huge city hospital, and the head nurse, a supervisor and three other staff members were openly gay and it was never an issue.

In 1974 a coworker at a private retirement home came out to me, the first straight person she had ever told. She was shaking and dry-mouthed as she told me; apparently her psych/counselor was helping her get to the point of revealing the 'secret' to her parents, and the first step was to tell someone who she felt comfortable with. We laughed about it later because she was so wound-up about the reveal, and my reaction was, "Yah, so...?And.....?"

Honestly, I had more problems with Christian Scientists than with gay folks.

Some of the things I love about where I work are the diversity of our staff and patient population, and the camaraderie among the staff. I work with a lot of openly gay staff and patients, and (at least) one pre-op transgendered staff member, and never see anyone treat them with anything but respect. I've heard some of my colleagues share their personal thoughts on their own religious objections regarding homosexuality, but have never seen any of them behave disrespectfully toward anyone that is known to be LGBT. I think the organization I work for does a good job of creating a culture of respect and acceptance for all groups.

Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

I live in a state that doesn't know if it is red or blue.

I don't care about a person's sexual orientation, patient, nurse or colleague. I would rather not hear about anyone's sex life at work, straight or gay. In terms of patient care, I treat all my patients equally, rich, poor, gay, straight, black, white, whatever. That is why I entered the profession: to give high quality care to anyone who needs it.

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