transgender nurse (transvestite)

SnowymtnRN · Jan 10, 2004

Originally posted by stevielynn
I guess what I'm concerned about, especially in reading all the diverse opinions just right here on our little bulletin board, is that this is a very emotional issue for the student. Nursing school just doesn't seem to be the right place to start to work this issue out. My first day of nursing school, a woman showed up with a cast on her leg. She had tripped coming out her front door and broken her leg. She assumed she would be able to continue in the nursing program. When the instructors came into the room, they spotted her cast and asked her to accompany her to another room. They came back alone.

Making sure someone has the physical and emotional stability to complete a nursing program seems a function of the instructors. It is pretty distracting to have someone changing back and forth trying to come to terms with the huge change they will physically and emotionally be going through, while at the same time undertaking nursing school.

steph

Don't you think that was wrong of the teachers tho? i mean when i went to school it was 6 weeks before we started clinicals, there was no reason this student couldn't continue to go to school with a cast on. i started nursing school with a broken jaw, black and blow and swollen like a balloon, but nobody had a problem with that. I was 4 days post op as well. So drooling was an issue for me the first few days of school

I think too many nursing instructors make it their mission to weed out people THEY don't think are good enough, smart enough or "normal" enough. I also doubt this student would be "male one day and female the next." I honestly think this teacher is not going to be fair and nonjudgemental towards this student either. I hope the student can tough it out and prove her wrong. NOT that she should have to tho... :rolleyes:

SharonH, RN · Jan 10, 2004

Lord, help us why can't people mind their own business? If he is already presenting and dressing as a female then, it really isn't revelant that he hasn't had the surgery yet. I mean, if he hadn't told anyone then how would you have known?

I have read the comments regarding this person's potential mental instability. I find them interesting because I couldn't find anywhere in the OP's original or subsequent posts that suggested that this person was confused or instable. Those are characteristics that were assigned to this person by the posters on this board.

As far as the patients not wanting a transgender to provide their peri-care, may I remind you that it is not a sexual act? I could care less about the patients' personal prejudices and I am tired of us always pandering to them whether it be gender, religious, racial, or political.

To sum it up, keep your judgments to yourself and mind your own business.

SnowymtnRN · Jan 10, 2004

Originally posted by SharonMH31
Lord, help us why can't people mind their own business? If he is already presenting and dressing as a female then, it really isn't revelant that he hasn't had the surgery yet. I mean, if he hadn't told anyone then how would you have known?

I have read the comments regarding this person's potential mental instability. I find them interesting because I couldn't find anywhere in the OP's original or subsequent posts that suggested that this person was confused or instable. Those are characteristics that were assigned to this person by the posters on this board.

As far as the patients not wanting a transgender to provide their peri-care, may I remind you that it is not a sexual act? I could care less about the patients' personal prejudices and I am tired of us always pandering to them whether it be gender, religious, racial, or political.

To sum it up, keep your judgments to yourself and mind your own business.

Teehee! well said! couldn't agree more! busybodies, busybodies, eh??

unknown99, BSN, RN · Jan 10, 2004

As long as this person is capable of providing quality nursing care, leave him alone!!!!

kmchugh · Jan 10, 2004

Originally posted by SharonMH31
Lord, help us why can't people mind their own business? If he is already presenting and dressing as a female then, it really isn't revelant that he hasn't had the surgery yet. I mean, if he hadn't told anyone then how would you have known?

Sharon

If the only issue were transgender, I would absolutely agree with you. I do not believe that being transgender is an issue where becoming a nurse is concerned. In fact, I generally think that someone who is truly transgender may be more stable than most of us, because of the soul searching and torment one would go through to come to this decision. And in fact, I see the surgery itself as irrelevant to the issue, in that there are those who cannot afford the surgery. In short, I do not see transgender issues as a valid discriminator against anyone becoming a nurse.

I have read the comments regarding this person's potential mental instability. I find them interesting because I couldn't find anywhere in the OP's original or subsequent posts that suggested that this person was confused or instable. Those are characteristics that were assigned to this person by the posters on this board.

Not true. Refer back to the OP's third post (post #8). She wrote:

I am also a patient advocate and I know that last year this person would be male one day and female the next.

This is the quote that gave me pause. It almost sounds as if the person could not make up their mind which gender they wanted to be. Now, I will say that it is possible that for the last year, this person has been going through the soul searching and struggle I mentioned earlier. It may further be that this person has now established their real identity, and is now living that identity. If that is the case, I withdraw my objections completely.

As far as the patients not wanting a transgender to provide their peri-care, may I remind you that it is not a sexual act? I could care less about the patients' personal prejudices and I am tired of us always pandering to them whether it be gender, religious, racial, or political.

To sum it up, keep your judgments to yourself and mind your own business.

On this, I am almost entirely in agreement with you. However, I must say that the patient's wishes are paramount. If we will allow a Muslim woman to refuse treatment from all male healthcare providers (and we must honor that request), then we also must allow a patient who is uncomfortable with transgendered persons to refuse care from that person. I am not saying that this nurse must announce their status to every patient. Most won't know, and it won't make a hill of beans of difference. But if one finds out, and wishes not to have that nurse care for him/her, then we must honor that wish as well.

Kevin McHugh

fergus51 · Jan 10, 2004

Kevin, it doesn't say this person is still being male one day and female the next. If that was a year ago and she has since made the decision to be permanently female, then who really cares?

And as far as allowing a muslim woman to choose a healthcare provider means we have to allow people to refuse care from transgendered people... well, you're wrong:). Here at least, the only reason valid to force a hospital to accomodate a patient's request is religion (not simply them being uncomfortable with the nurse). If we allowed people to choose their nurses based on comfort level we would have people who don't want men, don't want blacks, don't want foreigners, etc. Basically, we would be allowing discrimination in our hospitals. Patients can't have everything their way. This is not Burger King. You are guaranteed to receive care from a competent nurse, period.

jemb · Jan 10, 2004

Wow! If we weeded out all the nurses currently working that were going through changes in their lives, had 'emotional problems', or looked slightly different from the stereotypical gender that they profess, we'd really find out what a severe nursing shortage is!

How do we know whether some of the nurses that we currently work with began life as a different physical gender? Personally, I've never felt the need to ask any of my coworkers such personal questions. What difference does it make as long as the nurse is competent? I've never had a patient care whether their female nurse is 5' tall or 6' tall, or question the pitch of the nurse's voice.

A facial scar or physical deformity could potentially make a patient uncomfortable, too, but as long as it doesn't interfere with the nurse's ability to do the job at hand, would anyone have the nerve to question whether that person should be allowed to be a nurse?But when it involves anything sexual, suddenly it is supposed to matter?

Transvestite and not transgender? (OP did not seem to know which it was.) Well, a uniform/dress code should take care of that issue.

Yikes, folks! I thought we were more advanced than that in our thinking.

allnurses Guide · Jan 10, 2004

Transgender is not the issue as I've stated. The issue is timing. Is this the right time if the person is still confused?

As Kevin said, if not, then go ahead.

steph

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 10, 2004

Steph, hopefully the nursing school makes sure ALL it's students have the emotional and mental stability to complete a nursing program.

Why do you assume this person is emotionally unstable? Perhaps becuase of his transgenderism he might need an extra interview, but to assume she's unstable is prejudice. Sorry. This is not a flame. But why destroy a persons dream. Maybe there aren't any issues. Maybe she needs a good job with a good income to continue the process. Perhaps this person is stable.

We all have "issues" we are working on from a day to day basis. God knows I see nurses with boderline personalities every day.

I'm sure you've remember last year's very long thread on how many nurses are on antidepressants. There's a current support thread in the break room.

Yeah it's damn hard to work through our issues while under the gun of nursing.

kmchugh, I do agree that mental stability is of prime importance. Because a person present himself as male one day and female the next doesn't necessarily indicate mental instability. Perhaps it just indicates the type of mood the person is in. Perhaps as you indicated above, it denotes great inner strength and confidence. The confidence to be who and what he is.

This person doesn't sound to me like a true transgendered person. As was mentioned a true transgendered person believes they are the opposite sex that nature assigned them and lives that way. When they begin the process, they are actually required to live as the opposite sex before any surgery is performed. But there is a period of time I'm sure where she steps out as female, then goes back to the initial role they were living. Doesn't mean that can't do anything else in life but work on their "issues". Doesn't mean they can't study and work hard and persue other goals.

I will agree that there is a risk of mental instability (caused by societal pressures, prejudices, etc.) and this should be looked into. However, it must not be assumed.

It probablyl doesn't matter because in the long run the instructors, students and staff wherever are going to eat her up and spit her back out.

mjamesRN · Jan 10, 2004

I guess NURSE CATHY who started this thread bowed out.

Frankly she should bow out of being a nurse educator.

You're supposed to teach and support diversity. Transgender people are perfectly capable of advocating a patient.

Get a grip.

mjamesRN · Jan 10, 2004

Making sure someone has the physical and emotional stability to complete a nursing program seems a function of the instructors. It is pretty distracting to have someone changing back and forth trying to come to terms with the huge change they will physically and emotionally be going through, while at the same time undertaking nursing school.

More judgement among us.

Talk about physical limitations:

I suppose being pregnant is different?? or being so fat you can't get out of your chair??

Ladies, C'mon!

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 10, 2004

Originally posted by stevielynn
Transgender is not the issue as I've stated. The issue is timing. Is this the right time if the person is still confused?

As Kevin said, if not, then go ahead.

steph

Sorry Steph, read this post after I posted above. Perhaps I'm off base with how you feel.

Again though, just because she persents herself as male one day and female the next doesn't mean she is confused. Strange as that may sound.

I agree the timing to go through nursing has to be right for all of us. I post-poned to program twice because I wasn't emotional and financially prepared. Nursing school needs to be a time of little outside stress.