Historically, LGBTQ+ education has been lacking in our community.

The University of South Dakota (USD) has recognized this. That’s why its Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program recently held a panel featuring LGBTQ+ individuals who are medical providers, community members, and former LEND trainees.

I had the opportunity to serve as a panelist for this LEND panel on October 22, 2020. I enjoyed sharing my LGBTQ+ insights with trainees — and now, I want to share some of them with you.

My Experience on the USD LEND Panel

As I sit here contemplating the experience I had as a panelist, I am struck by how inspiring that moment was for me.

In a year that has been difficult and so polarized, it was incredible to be able to participate in open and vulnerable dialogue with future healthcare leaders on the topic of LGBTQ+ experiences within the healthcare system. It left me feeling hopeful that if these future leaders are listening now, someday, in the not-too-distant future, they will find themselves in positions to make meaningful and lasting changes toward inclusivity.

During this authentic panel discussion, questions and topics included:

How healthcare providers can create an inclusive patient experience
Common barriers and issues LGBTQ+ individuals face in the healthcare system
Differences between LGBTQ+ perspectives

The space we were able to gift one another reminds me of a Brené Brown quote on empathy:

“Empathy has no script. There is no right way or wrong way to do it. It’s simply listening. Holding space. Withholding judgment. Emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of ‘you’re not alone.’”

— Brené Brown

How You Can Help the LGBTQ+ Community

As an extension of the healing and connecting that was done, I have provided the information and resources below for you to use in learning more about this topic.

In order to ensure everyone has access to safe, effective, and competent healthcare, it is important that we all do what we can to be informed and use what we learn to better the world for one another.

Quick Facts

These facts are from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey: Report on Health and Health Care, a survey of 6,450 transgender and gender non-conforming people:

Nearly 1 in 5 reported being refused care outright because they were transgender or gender non-conforming.
Survey participants reported very high levels of postponing medical care when sick or injured due to discrimination and disrespect (28 percent).
28 percent of respondents were subjected to harassment in medical settings.
50 percent of the sample reported having to teach their medical providers about transgender care.

Important Suggestions

If you are a healthcare professional or work for a healthcare professional, I ask that you consider the following suggestions to work toward inclusivity for your LGBTQ+ patients:

Offer magazines and resources in your lobby that positively reflect LGBTQ+ individuals, couples, and families.
Have staff take cultural competency training to stay informed and up to date. If you are looking for training, please contact us to inquire.

Be mindful of your intake paperwork. Provide an area for people to identify their “legal name” (name given at birth) as well as their name, gender, and pronouns.
Appropriately train staff to understand that being “out” is a spectrum. Some people are not out, some are out to select people, and others are fully open about their identity. Pending upon where someone is at in their coming-out process, it may not be appropriate for certain things to be shared; in some scenarios, this could lead to a patient being physically harmed, fired, kicked out of housing, or disowned. It is really important to understand this reality for your patients and to be clear about this when they share with you that they are LGBTQ+.

Resources for LGBTQ+ Healthcare

Here are a few additional resources for those seeking to learn more about or receive quality healthcare for LGBTQ+ individuals:

About the LEND Program

“The purpose of the LEND program is to improve the health of infants, children, and adolescents with disabilities. They accomplish this by preparing trainees from diverse professional disciplines to assume leadership roles in their respectively fields and by ensuring high levels of interdisciplinary clinical competence.”

— Association of University Centers on Disabilities