PRIDE in Healthcare

Our blog has moved!

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:56:43 -0500

We’ve moved our blog to the UW Medical Students website. Update your bookmarks accordingly.

I AM: Trans People Speak

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:39:04 -0500

Their mission:

I AM: Trans People Speak COMMUNITY is a project to raise awareness
about the diversity that exists within transgender communities. It
gives a voice to transgender individuals, as well as their families,
friends, and allies.

Together we can make our own media and continue to make a positive change in the representation of transgender people. We do this by
focusing on the full individual. Transgender people come from a range
of experiences and backgrounds, including age, race, ethnicity, gender
expression, and sexual orientation.

This is the space to empower yourself and your community by sharing
your own experiences.

NYT: "For Many Older Gays, a Toll of Time and Isolation"

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:23:06 -0600

NYT: "For Many Older Gays, a Toll of Time and Isolation":

Manuel A. Eskildsen, MD writes:

Long after I had asked the paramedics to stop chest compressions, I was more dejected and frustrated by this patient’s death than by almost any I had experienced as a physician.

Sure, performing CPR after cardiopulmonary arrest on a frail man in his late 90s was likely to be an exercise in futility. And, in retrospect, we should have been more aggressive at the nursing home about suggesting he change his status from “full code” to “do not resuscitate.” But that wasn’t the main reason this man’s death continued to gnaw at me.

My patient was gay, and as a gay geriatrician I had felt a connection with him unlike any I’d had with my other patients. We never directly discussed his sexuality; initially, I only knew that he was a lifelong bachelor and a retired history professor who had taught for many years at Emory University in Atlanta.

In time, as he let his guard down, I learned that what he considered his life’s work and true love was the restoration of the historic farmhouse he owned in rural Georgia, where he had an enormous garden that was his pride and joy. Eventually, this World War II veteran told me about his postwar years as a graduate student in Chicago, where he formed close relationships with a few other men.

(Follow the link to read more.)

Survey: Perceptions of GLBT Health Care

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:52:00 -0600

Survey: Perceptions of GLBT Health Care:

PRIDE in Healthcare received a message from Michael Ioerger, a psychological researcher who studies LGBTQ healthcare at Colorado State University. He is currently working on collecting data for study investigating LGBT persons’ perceptions of their primary care providers and wishes to reach out to the broadest, most diverse group of LGBTQ people possible. He has asked PRIDE in Healthcare to pass along the study’s participant recruitment notice. Please read it below. If you self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender and have a primary care physician, do your part to help advance research in this historically neglected area.

*****

Participant Recruitment Notice:

Perceptions of GLBT Health Care

We are conducting an on-line study at Colorado State University to assess gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons’ perceptions of their primary care medical providers. The only requirements for participation in this study are that you are at least 18 years of age or older, self-identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, and currently have a primary care physician.

Participation in this research requires only that you complete a brief survey that asks questions about you and your perceptions of your primary care physician. We do not ask questions that require you to provide any personally identifying information, or to provide any information about the identity of your primary care physician. Your responses will be kept strictly confidential, and all data will be encrypted using the same standards that businesses use for handling credit card information.

If you are interested in participating in this research, please click on the link below for more information.

https://www.psychdata.com/s.asp?SID=143991

Principal Researcher: Dr. Jennifer J. Harman

Co-Investigators: Dr. Justin J. Lehmiller and Michael Ioerger

This project has been approved by the Colorado State University Institutional Review Board (Protocol #11-2944H).

*****

One teacher's approach to preventing gender bullying in a classroom

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:58:51 -0600

togetherforjacksoncountykids:

“It’s Okay to be Neither,” By Melissa Bollow Tempel

Alie arrived at our 1st-grade classroom wearing a sweatshirt with a hood. I asked her to take off her hood, and she refused. I thought she was just being difficult and ignored it. After breakfast we got in line for art, and I noticed that she still had not removed her hood. When we arrived at the art room, I said: “Allie, I’m not playing. It’s time for art. The rule is no hoods or hats in school.”

She looked up with tears in her eyes and I realized there was something wrong. Her classmates went into the art room and we moved to the art storage area so her classmates wouldn’t hear our conversation. I softened my tone and asked her if she’d like to tell me what was wrong.

“My ponytail,” she cried.

“Can I see?” I asked.

She nodded and pulled down her hood. Allie’s braids had come undone overnight and there hadn’t been time to redo them in the morning, so they had to be put back in a ponytail. It was high up on the back of her head like those of many girls in our class, but I could see that to Allie it just felt wrong. With Allie’s permission, I took the elastic out and re-braided her hair so it could hang down.

“How’s that?” I asked.

She smiled. “Good,” she said and skipped off to join her friends in art.

‘Why Do You Look Like a Boy?’

Read More

Dept. of Justice expands definition of rape

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:50:00 -0600

Dept. of Justice expands definition of rape:

For over eight decades, rape was defined as forcible male penile penetration of a female. A vast number of sexual crimes were not counted, including oral and anal penetration, or instances when a victim was unable to give consent. The new definition makes up for these oversights. It also expands the definition to reflect that anyone—male, female, or transgender—can be a victim of rape.

Led by the child who simply knew-The Boston Globe

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:51:00 -0600

Led by the child who simply knew-The Boston Globe:

This article is overall a nice story, with some good discussion of puberty-blockers and gender diversity in children. It mentions The Children’s Hospital Gender Management Services Clinic in Boston.

There are still some some issues of gender essentialism present (which may or may not be problematic), but feel free to discuss!

Trans@MIT: Allies Toolkit

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:06:19 -0600

Trans@MIT: Allies Toolkit:

This links to some great resources from some tips on how to be an effective and engaged ally to transgender, genderqueer communities all the way to a list of recommended readings Medical and Mental Health Providers.

gaywrites: Fantastic message. More info here. World AIDS Day...

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:47:16 -0600

gaywrites:

Fantastic message. More info here. World AIDS Day 2011.

Gynecologists told to prepare to treat transgender patients

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:35:43 -0600

Gynecologists told to prepare to treat transgender patients:

cassket:

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology has come out with a new statement for their members: it’s time to prepare to work with transgender patients.

To address the significant health care disparities of transgender individuals and to improve their access to care, ob-gyns should prepare to provide routine treatment and screening or refer them to other physicians, according to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (The College). In a Committee Opinion published today, The College also states its opposition to gender identity discrimination and supports both public and private health insurance coverage for gender identity disorder treatment.

I have criticized ACOG in the past for their policies regarding home birth and midwifery care, but this statement is really good news and an important step for transgender health care.

Their statement specifically addresses the gynecological needs of transgender men, who may still require cervical and breast cancer screenings, as well as other gynecological (and even obstetric) care.

“We need to make our offices settings that treat all patients with respect,” said Dr. Buyers. The College offers ob-gyns suggestions on how to create an office environment that is welcoming to transgender patients. For instance, asking patients their preferred name and pronoun, posting non-discrimination policies, ensuring confidentiality, and offering sensitivity training for staff are all steps that signal acceptance and let patients know that they will be treated with dignity. “We want the transgender community to know that we, as ob-gyns, care about their health.”

I hope that their members follow this important advice.

A Day in America with HIV | advocate.com

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:33:00 -0600

A Day in America with HIV | advocate.com:

projectqueer:

By Michelle Garcia

9:15 a.m., Austin, Texas: The staff of the Wright House Wellness Center, an AIDS service organization: “We are a diverse group of people brought together by our passion to serve people living with HIV and those at risk. We love our work and value each other.”

Many of us who don’t have HIV often don’t know much about the daily lives of people living with the virus. And yet those of us living with HIV may also be curious as to how the virus effects other people across the country. Positively Aware magazine’s project, A Day with HIV in America, aims to bridge that gap, to help us all understand the daily lives of the 1.1 million people in the United States with the virus.

The resulting call for photo submissions taken during any point of the day on Sept. 21 were published in their magazine, their site, and will also be on display at the U.S. Conference on AIDS this week in Chicago.

Here is a glimpse of Positively Aware’s project.

We would love to hear your stories!

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:25:04 -0600

We would love to hear your stories!:

Are you LGBTQIA (or otherwise non-heteronormative/cisgender)? Are you a patient? Are you a healthcare professional? Both?

We want to learn about your interactions with the healthcare system, good and bad.

Click on the title to link to the page where you can submit your story. THANK YOU for any stories you share.

Reminder of PRIDE General Meeting on Monday!

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:14:00 -0600

5pm-6pm in the Health Sciences Learning Center, room 2272.

We have results back from the planning survey and would like to discuss which projects to focus on. At this point the most popular ideas are setting up a transgender health panel for sometime in April 2012, working to modify/add LGBT content to our various health sciences curricula, and prepping a workshop to educate on LGBTQ health.

Come let us know what you think or what you want to do!

1st Annual Reel Love LGBT Film Festival

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:00:08 -0600

1st Annual Reel Love LGBT Film Festival:

The Wisconsin Union Directorate Film Committee is hosting Madison’s first LGBT film festival from November 10th-13th, 2011. Our Reel Love Film Festival is for Madison’s thriving LGBT community, students, community members, and the general public.

The film festival presents eleven films over four days that take place at the Marquee Theater at Union South. There will be a wonderful array from classic films to diamonds in the rough and everything in between. We want to celebrate the LGBT community and also educate people on current issues - from disapproving churches to pride on a global scale.

The film festival is 100% free and open to the public. WUD Film is out to prove that “reel love has no gender”.

70 Percent of Anti-LGBT Murder Victims are People of Color

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:41:40 -0500

70 Percent of Anti-LGBT Murder Victims are People of Color

Transgender Medical Needs Go Unaddressed at Most Colleges | advocate.com

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:39:39 -0500

Transgender Medical Needs Go Unaddressed at Most Colleges | advocate.com:

projectqueer:

By Michelle Garcia

Transgender college students across the country say more needs to be done to cover their medical needs under university-provided health care plans, according to Campus Progress.

Most college and university health policies cover some procedures such as chest reduction surgeries and hormonal treatments for non-transgender people, similar treatment is not afforded to transgender students.

Transgender University of Iowa graduate student Stef Shuster paid $10,000 for chest surgery because the school’s health coverage does not consider such procedures to be necessary. The cost of the surgery is nearly equal to Shuster’s annual stipend.

“I can only dream about what else that money could have been spent on,” Shuster told Campus Progress. “I honestly don’t know how I pulled it together in order to pay for that.”

Another transgender student estimated that her full transition cost $49,550, with none of it covered by university insurance.

Currently, 18 colleges cover at least some medical expenses tied to transgender peoples’ needs, at minimal cost to the institutions themselves.

PRIDE Meeting Schedule now available!

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:38:59 -0500

Just click the link in the sidebar to see what’s happening and when.

In addition, our first social gathering/study time will be this TUESDAY, Nov. 1st, instead of Monday like our usual meetings due to Halloween events. Come join us from 4pm-who knows when in room 2272 of the HSLC. There is also the potential for a group Glee watch in response to a certain Tumblr moderator and PRIDE Co-Leader’s obsession.

Linda Harvey, Mission America Radio Host, Warns Parents of...

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:24:03 -0500

Linda Harvey, Mission America Radio Host, Warns Parents of Dangers of Children Seeing Gay Doctors. (click for the Huffpost article)

Not sure what to comment on this except that it is disheartening these viewpoints exist…

How to Close the Health Disparities Gap

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:13:57 -0500

How to Close the Health Disparities Gap:

Center for American Progress article addressing the disparities in LGBT health and healthcare, including access. There is a little information on LGB people of color and a little on transgender health, though they acknowledge not as much since there is very little research out there. This is an issue in itself.

It is wordy, but there are several easy to understand graphs.

Emergency Hotlines

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:10:48 -0500

Hotline: 1-630-482-9696

Suicide Hotline: 1-800-784-8433

LifeLine: 1-800-273-8255

Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386

Sexuality Support: 1-800-246-7743

Eating Disorders Hotline: 1-847-831-3438

Rape and Sexual Assault: 1-800-656-4673

Grief Support: 1-650-321-5272

Runaway: 1-800-843-5200, 1-800-843-5678, 1-800-621-4000

Exhale: After Abortion Hotline/Pro-Voice: 1-866-4394253