Post by Ayla on Apr 7, 2016 15:40:43 GMT 8
www.dailylife.com.au/health-and-fitness/dl-wellbeing/navigating-the-health-system-as-a-transgender-person-20160404-gnyefk.html
Alexander Gallagher's new eye doctor didn't know the 15-year-old was transgender until he saw that he was taking testosterone.
As Alexander tells it, the doctor didn't seem to quite know what to say.
"He told me he was so proud of me," Alexander said, and laughed. "I don't want you to be proud of me. I need you to fix my eyes."
For transgender people such as Alexander, who was assigned the female gender at birth but now lives as a boy, navigating the health care system can be complicated.
Many grapple with how to tell a doctor that they are not living the gender they were assigned with, and worry about the reaction they might get. Some avoid getting check-ups out of concern they will be judged, or treated badly.
While there is a growing understanding of trans issues, it has not been accepted by all physicians. But small steps have been made to provide protections to transgender people, and to make sure that health care providers are culturally sensitive to them, and that they aren't denied medical treatment.
"I think there have been amazing strides made and we still have a long way to go," said Jamison Green, president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. "There has been an increasing number of health care providers who are coming to understand the issues."
Transgender people go to the doctor for colds, flus, infections and other routine ailments that most people get, but they also have medical needs that are different from others.
Parents may decide to allow transgender children to take "hormone blockers" to prevent them from going into puberty, which can be a painful process for many trans people. Transgender adults take hormones that could affect treatment for other ailments.
If they have not undergone sex reassignment surgery, transgender man still needs to get pap smears and mammograms and could get uterine cancer. A transgender woman still needs to get regular prostate exams.
Nearly 75 per cent of transgender patients worry that medical personnel will treat them differently based on their gender status, according to a survey by Washington-based Advocates for Youth.
Research has shown transgender people are more likely to suffer from depression and other mental health issues, or to have complications from untreated illnesses because they don't go to the doctor.
Greater visibility of transgender issues has prompted doctors and hospitals to look at ways to better treat patients. A new generation of medical students is also bringing the discussion to medical schools.
Still, treating transgender people is new for many doctors, and many don't always know what particular issues they should be sensitive about.
Johns Hopkins Medicine has created two task forces to look at transgender issues and is training some staff to how to better serve transgender patients. There are plans to create educational materials for doctors, nurses and other employees.
"We don't want any of our patients to feel like an anomaly when they come into our facility," said James Page Jr., the system's chief diversity officer.
Dr Rachel Bluebond-Langner, an assistant professor in the division of plastic surgery at University of Maryland School of Medicine, has given talks to nurses and other providers at University of Maryland Medical Center about treating transgender patients.
"We want these patients to feel comfortable anywhere they go within the system," she said.
Many hospitals in the US and elsewhere are trying different approaches. Many transgender people don't change their birth name right away, and their healthcare cards and identification may have a name that doesn't fit the gender they look like. This can draw attention when a patient is called from the waiting room to see a health care provider.
Some doctors offices now ask for the name patients preferred to be called. Others have included a space in patient forms where people can identify themselves as transgender. That way they don't have to figure out how to tell their doctor.
"Sometimes that is all that is needed to decrease anxiety, being called a name that feels comfortable for them," said Dr Elyse Pine, Chase Brexton's lead physician for transgender youth.
"When somebody presents a gender they are not comfortable with for several years, having to hear that former name over and over again can be disconcerting and difficult."
Green said more change needs to come.
Alexander said he has never been mistreated by doctors, but he often feels the awkwardness in the room when they find out.
It happened with his pediatrician, and recently with a dentist.
Some doctors will ask about the hormones he takes, but nothing else on the medication list, such as antidepressants. He wishes doctors would just be up front with their discomfort and ask questions rather than act over supportive. But he said he also sees it as a sign that doctors want to learn.
And he doesn't mind being the teacher.
"If I can help people better understand transgender, then I'm OK with that," he said.
Alexander Gallagher's new eye doctor didn't know the 15-year-old was transgender until he saw that he was taking testosterone.
As Alexander tells it, the doctor didn't seem to quite know what to say.
"He told me he was so proud of me," Alexander said, and laughed. "I don't want you to be proud of me. I need you to fix my eyes."
For transgender people such as Alexander, who was assigned the female gender at birth but now lives as a boy, navigating the health care system can be complicated.
Many grapple with how to tell a doctor that they are not living the gender they were assigned with, and worry about the reaction they might get. Some avoid getting check-ups out of concern they will be judged, or treated badly.
While there is a growing understanding of trans issues, it has not been accepted by all physicians. But small steps have been made to provide protections to transgender people, and to make sure that health care providers are culturally sensitive to them, and that they aren't denied medical treatment.
"I think there have been amazing strides made and we still have a long way to go," said Jamison Green, president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. "There has been an increasing number of health care providers who are coming to understand the issues."
Transgender people go to the doctor for colds, flus, infections and other routine ailments that most people get, but they also have medical needs that are different from others.
Parents may decide to allow transgender children to take "hormone blockers" to prevent them from going into puberty, which can be a painful process for many trans people. Transgender adults take hormones that could affect treatment for other ailments.
If they have not undergone sex reassignment surgery, transgender man still needs to get pap smears and mammograms and could get uterine cancer. A transgender woman still needs to get regular prostate exams.
Nearly 75 per cent of transgender patients worry that medical personnel will treat them differently based on their gender status, according to a survey by Washington-based Advocates for Youth.
Research has shown transgender people are more likely to suffer from depression and other mental health issues, or to have complications from untreated illnesses because they don't go to the doctor.
Greater visibility of transgender issues has prompted doctors and hospitals to look at ways to better treat patients. A new generation of medical students is also bringing the discussion to medical schools.
Still, treating transgender people is new for many doctors, and many don't always know what particular issues they should be sensitive about.
Johns Hopkins Medicine has created two task forces to look at transgender issues and is training some staff to how to better serve transgender patients. There are plans to create educational materials for doctors, nurses and other employees.
"We don't want any of our patients to feel like an anomaly when they come into our facility," said James Page Jr., the system's chief diversity officer.
Dr Rachel Bluebond-Langner, an assistant professor in the division of plastic surgery at University of Maryland School of Medicine, has given talks to nurses and other providers at University of Maryland Medical Center about treating transgender patients.
"We want these patients to feel comfortable anywhere they go within the system," she said.
Many hospitals in the US and elsewhere are trying different approaches. Many transgender people don't change their birth name right away, and their healthcare cards and identification may have a name that doesn't fit the gender they look like. This can draw attention when a patient is called from the waiting room to see a health care provider.
Some doctors offices now ask for the name patients preferred to be called. Others have included a space in patient forms where people can identify themselves as transgender. That way they don't have to figure out how to tell their doctor.
"Sometimes that is all that is needed to decrease anxiety, being called a name that feels comfortable for them," said Dr Elyse Pine, Chase Brexton's lead physician for transgender youth.
"When somebody presents a gender they are not comfortable with for several years, having to hear that former name over and over again can be disconcerting and difficult."
Green said more change needs to come.
Alexander said he has never been mistreated by doctors, but he often feels the awkwardness in the room when they find out.
It happened with his pediatrician, and recently with a dentist.
Some doctors will ask about the hormones he takes, but nothing else on the medication list, such as antidepressants. He wishes doctors would just be up front with their discomfort and ask questions rather than act over supportive. But he said he also sees it as a sign that doctors want to learn.
And he doesn't mind being the teacher.
"If I can help people better understand transgender, then I'm OK with that," he said.