NSG 6430 - Week 8 Discussion. Latest with Reviews.

• Discuss any “take-away” thoughts from the article. In my reading of the articles, my “take-away” is that as all humans regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, deserve to have culturally competent quality healthcare, untainted by personal biases. The LGBTQ community has faced barriers in acquiring effective healthcare when disclosing their gender identity, being treated by a provider who is culturally incompetent, issues with insurance policies and coverage, lack of appropriate prevention and intervention as well as discrimination. This is truly unjust and unethical, though at times unintentional, it’s still unacceptable. • How do you plan to make a positive impact on the care of LGBT patients when you become a NP? As a NP, my plan to make a positive impact on the care of the LGBT patient is to continually educate myself on what is acceptable, non-offensive and culturally sensitive to this population as I would with any other patient or population I serve. When serving a patient of the LGBT community, I cannot let my own bias prevent me from providing the best possible care for my patient whether the care is mental or physical. According to Grossman (2016), one recommendation for providers is to create comprehensive intake forms using inclusive gender neutral language that is non-pathologizing and non-judgmental and includes as many options as possible for both specification of gender identity, sexual orientation and space for the patient to self-identify if needed. When the patient takes the time to fill in these forms, the provider and staff should take the time to read the intake form, absorb the information, ask questions on what is not clear and implement the necessary adjustments to make the patient feel welcomed. I feel this is one way we can foster a positive impact and be in the “know” of what our patients expect and deserve from a provider while in our care.