This site is basically a brochure by a transgender law center. It contains information about the transgender community. It also contains tips how, as a doctor, you must treat transgender patients that walk into your office. I chose this because I know very little about this community and I would like to know how to accommodate a patient that walks into my office. 

Click to access doc_22.pdf

This site is similar to the one above because they both cover tips on respectfully dealing with transgender patients. In addition to this, the site defines some key terms relating to this topic. I have a hard time keeping all of these words straight in my head. I felt like this site would help me to refresh anything that I may forget or would need to reference later. I also chose it because I liked how clearly it defined everything.

This website lays out policies and protocols for serving transgender patients. It lays out similar information as the other two websites, however in a more detailed and organized matter so that the information is implemented in an office setting. I chose it because I felt like it describes perfectly how one should legally go about treating and serving a transgender patient. It is all encompassing in the sense that it addresses the entire office, not just the doctor, to make these changes. 

References

10 Tips for Working with Transgender Patients. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://

transgenderlawcenter.org/resources/health/10tips

Policy & Protocol for Serving Transgender Patients. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://

http://www.transgenderlegal.org/media/uploads/doc_22.pdf

Quick tips for medical providers of transgender patients. (2018, October 12). Retrieved from 

https://uihc.org/health-topics/quick-tips-medical-providers-transgender-patients

In a study found on NCBI with the title, “Intercultural doctor-patient communication in daily outpatient care: relevant communication skills, Dutch doctors were videotaped with their non-dutch patients in a hospital in the Netherlands to determine if they were using proper intercultural communication. The study highlights the fact that intercultural communication is not something that is widely trained. It sought to figure out which of these communication skills medical skills apply and which should be trained more. Upon reading this study, I found it interesting which of these skills some of these doctors lacked. An example is “Show to have learned from previous consultations with ethnic minority patients.” This is something that is to be expected when dealing with people from different cultures repeatedly, so it is striking that something like this was absent in their communication skills.

An overview of skills, absent in at least 40 % of the consultations, that the doctors did not use but that were relevant within the context of these consultations: absent communication skills Check expectations regarding the consultation/healthcare

Ask about the patient’s feelings

Ask about the relatives’ emotions

Show awareness of his own cultural and professional context

Check foreknowledge of the patient about diagnosis or expected policy

Summarize the patient’s story

Explore the reason for the consultation, wishes and expectations

Explore reaction of information transfer to the patient’s context

Demonstrate being alert to possible cultural aspects when asking for the reason for the consultation

Show awareness of cultural differences

Show to have learned from previous consultations with ethnic minority patients

Ask if the patient understood the information

Check if the patient and/or family understood the explanation

Adapt cultural differences in diagnosis and policy

Observe cultural differences

Check the language ability of the patient

React adequately to possible cultural differences *The skills in the table are presented from most to less absent Taken from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5035277/

Although this study was done in the Netherlands, I feel like these same issues are faced by diverse populations seeking healthcare in the United States. I feel this way because I come from a culturally diverse background. I have went with my parents to the hospital before and have personally seen these specific examples of lack of communication between the doctors and my parents. I was always there to help translate and to bridge that gap. But even when I translated, the doctor did not always ask about my parents’ emotions, summarized their story, or even asked if they understood the information. Some of the most basic things about the visit were not addressed. This causes tension between the doctor-patient relationship. And on a large scale, prevents these patients from seeking help in the future unless absolutely necessary.

It is often difficult to truly sympathize with others if you have not experienced the same thing as them. Sometimes it can feel as though your friend, or whomever, is exaggerating their grief or situation. It becomes a sort of nuisance to try to comfort someone who is going through this. Especially when they take “too long” to get over it.

However, when something is inflicted on us, it seems like the end of the world. You suddenly have all the patience in the world to grieve and for as long as you want too. You EXPECT people to be there for you, comfort you, and sympathize your situation.

I find it humorous that this is so relatable. No one really blatantly says it like this, but if they did, it would look very much like this comic strip.

Amanda Bennett expressed the idea and narrative of death very beautifully:

She expresses this idea in her TED talk. “We have a noble path to curing the disease, patients and doctors alike, but there doesn’t seem to be a noble path to dying. Dying is seen as failing, and we had a heroic narrative for fighting together, but we didn’t have a heroic narrative for letting go” (Bennett, 12:14). This was exactly how the character from Margaret Edson’s WIT, Vivian Bearing, felt near the end. She seemed heroic for enduring the treatment and the pain that came along with it. When the treatment was no longer working, she became rapidly weaker. She felt as though she was failing even though she put up a tough fight. Vivian’s entire experience during those eight months relied on the narrative for hope, but once the end edged closer, and the reality of her death struck, she changed her narrative completely. Once an independent, strong woman, she turned into a fragile human who sought comfort without wanting to sacrifice her dignity in the process. 

References

Edson, M. (1993). Wit. New York: Dramatists Play Services.

Bennett, A. (n.d.). Transcript of “We need a heroic narrative for death”. Retrieved from https://

http://www.ted.com/talks/amanda_bennett_a_heroic_narrative_for_letting_go/transcript