“As nurses we have to understand that our patients aren’t all going to fit in these neat

“As nurses we have to understand that our patients aren’t all going to fit in these neat little boxes that society has designed for them.”

I just had the opportunity to attend Jennifer Detchemendy’s session on Providing Safe, Sensitive Care to the LGBT(Q) Community. While I was aware of the issues the LGBT(Q) population encounters in regards to healthcare, I did not realize just how staggering the levels of discrimination were. A study in 2015 showed that 28% of transgender patients postponed seeking healthcare because of the fear of discrimination based on their previous healthcare encounters. 19% of those who did seek care reported being refused treatment because of their transgender or gender nonconforming status. In addition to fear of discrimination, seeking care is also delayed or difficult because of fears of breaches of confidentiality with HCPs, lack of partner benefits, prejudicial policies and procedures at both the organizational level and state level, a lack of LGBT health care providers, and being a subject of physical and/or verbal abuse by healthcare workers.

This should outrage all of you. Nurses need to be educated on these disparities, how to reduce these disparities, respecting the uniqueness of EVERY patient, and the importance of LGBT cultural humility. I appreciate Jennifer and NTI for getting the ball rolling on this education and pushing for creating a welcoming and judgment Free environment for our LGBT(Q) patient population.
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