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?
Cali yes economic status is definitely the one i seen but it's usually connected to something more than that. Behavior towards staff, nelect, drug use etc. Places i have worked also had a fair number of suspected or known gang members which got a lot of negativity.
I was referring to a certain type of behavior when I used the phrase "economic status".
Song in my Heart indicated that she is a recovering bigot...
I think we are all recovering bigots at some level. We live in a nation that was built on bigoted and racist principles, we practiced a form a genocide with the Native Americans, we fought to protect the right to own human slaves as property. These societal attitudes, belief systems, and institutional biases do not go away in a decade or even in one person's lifetime, AEB the health of the KKK to this day.
As individuals we grow and evolve past that unenlightened type of thinking, but society is made of many many individuals with closeted fears and beliefs as well as newly found tolerance.
I have a cousin who is Gay, you should hear the trash talk from him against Christians. My point being, not everyone will approve of us and our dearly held beliefs.
I've found it to be the people who are the most intolerant are the ones who preach tolerance. They believe in tolerance as long as people are expressing THEIR point of views.
For what it's worth, I see a big difference between "tolerance" and "acceptance."
I was going to comment that because I see the word being used a lot in the thread, even in the OP.
Frankly, as a gay person, I would rather someone flat out say they don't like gay people than saying they are 'tolerant' of gay people. Someone saying they 'tolerate' gay people is like them saying, "I don't really like gay people, but I'm going to say I'm tolerant so it sounds like I'm not a homophobe." At least someone who simply says they don't support gay people isn't trying to hide behind a guise of political correctness.
I recently had a patient who was a direct admit from another hospital. I don't know how he got this information but at the end of his report to me before he left, one of the paramedics that transported the patient made it a point to tell me (in a low hush tone) that the patient was a "M" (a vulgar Spanish term for gay male). He thereafter proceeded to explain to me how he had no problem with that and that he had recently had some cultural competence training on caring for these kind of patients ... so I guess he just wanted to boast about the fact that he took care of a gay patient and that he didn't treat him any differently? Yet at the end of the day you end up telling me that he is not gay, not a homosexual, but a "M"? I was kind of at a loss for words on the whole thing and just let him go. Turns out, the patient being gay had NO RELEVANCE with his diagnosis or reason for hospitalization!
But I must say, the patient was a real pleasure to care for and he was discharged a few days after my 3 nights with him. When I came back to work, I had a message of thanks from him waiting for me. That is all that really matters to me - that I was a good nurse to someone, gay or not gay.
Not just a straight male, but a VERY straight male. Impressive.
What's the difference?
Get me drunk and I'm still straight... I'm actually quite conservative in some ways. Just looking at the "cover" and not the "book", "very straight" is very much how others perceive me and it's not until you get to know me a little that I'm not anti-homosexual at all. I do accept people for who they are, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I actually have never seen it in the workplace. For my beliefs...love is love. It is rare and very hard to find. My cousin finally married her partner of 20 years and I have never been so happy.
Setting aside the specific case of akulahawk, who I know only though interactions on this site, and who seems to be quite a fine human being, I perceive the term "very straight" to conceal a bias... it's an aggrandizement of certain brands of manliness... the rugged individualist, the macho tough guy, the 'tough-as-nails' Drill Instructor type, the Marlboro man (before he wasted away with lung cancer)... the quintessential alpha male.
The bias is the linkage of those cultural personas with sexual orientation... as though to be badass, Chuck Norris type, means that one is also straight... that gays can't be tough guys, manly men, firefighters, bouncers, etc.
This is the kind of bias that I recognized in myself awhile back.
Gay and straight are binary, mutually exclusive conditions. People who flaunt their sexuality, or who manifest certain traits or characteristics that our culture considers to typify manliness or womanliness, are no more or less gay/straight than those whose orientation is externally ambiguous.
Not just a straight male, but a VERY straight male. Impressive.
What's the difference?
Just watched a segment of Dr. Phil featuring a man who reportedly has slept with more than 300 women as opposed to the usual average of 7 for the male adult. However, Dr. Phil treated this guest as not well, an opinion that the guest agreed with. I would call 300 women to fall into the VERY straight category; if that is the impression one is trying to convey.
I'm actually quite conservative in some ways. Just looking at the "cover" and not the "book", "very straight" is very much how others perceive me and it's not until you get to know me a little that I'm not anti-homosexual at all. I do accept people for who they are, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
caliotter3
38,333 Posts
I was referring to a certain type of behavior when I used the phrase "economic status".