1st Edition
The Medical Professional's Guide to LGBT+ Inclusion Creating a Workplace Culture that Nurtures a Welcoming, Inclusive, and Affirming Environment
The rates of medical bullying, absences by LGBT+ professionals due to lack of safety in the workplace, and subsequent suicidality for LGBT+ youth and adults are exponentially higher than for non-LGBT+ youth and adults. As a result, many LGBT+ patients and professionals are suffering needlessly, and many business leaders are unsure of what to do. This book solves that problem.
Featuring real-life situations and scenarios, a glossary, and further resources, this book enables professionals in a variety of business roles to integrate foundational concepts into their everyday interactions with potential and current employees to create an overall medical workplace culture that nurtures a welcoming, inclusive, and affirming environment for all. This book can be utilized by independent readers, department teams, and entire medical corporations reading experiences.
Setting out best practices and professional guidance for creating an LGBT+ inclusive medical workplace, this approachable and easy-to-follow book guides medical leaders and anyone working in a medical facility toward appropriate and proven ways to create safer working environments, update workplace policies, enhance hiring and staff retention protocols, and better support LGBT+ employees in the workplace as well as for LGBT+ patient experiences.
The real-life scenarios are a unique feature of this book. While many offer information, this book is practical and requires active engagement with the material for the reader. The scenarios offer the reader the opportunity to try out the foundational knowledge they obtained in earlier chapters by giving real business place experiences that others have been challenged by. After reading the scenario, there are intentional pointed thought questions, which can be used for discussion if the book is read in groups or teams. This encourages teamwork and shared learning. Then, readers will receive guidance from America’s leading LGBT+ expert, who uses her 25+ years of experience to guide the reader as if they were receiving individualized guidance right from her to them!
Section I- The Foundation: Terminology and Insights
Chapter 1: Safety
Chapter 2: Hate Crimes
Chapter 3: Allyship
- Why It Matters That You Are an LGBT+ Ally
- Who Am I and What Traits Do I Bring to Allyship?
- How to Be an Active Ally
Chapter 4: Privilege
Chapter 5: Intersectionality
Chapter 6: Battle Fatigue
Chapter 7: Terminology
- In Broad Terms
Chapter 8: Masking and Coming Out
- Masking
- Coming Out
Chapter 9: More Terminology
- Sexual Orientations
- Gender Identity
- Proof of Identity
Chapter 10: Medical Experiences
- Medical Gaslighting
- Trans Broken Arm Syndrome
- Sex Education
- HIV and AIDS
- Menstruation/Periods
- Endometriosis and Adenomyosis
- Pregnancy
- Pregnant While Black
- Trans Hormones During Pregnancy
- Cigarettes and Alcohol Use
Chapter 11: Retransitioning, Detransitioning & Going Back into the Closet
- Retransitioning
- Detransitioning & Going Back into the Closet
Additional Useful Terminology
Questions and Answers
Research Your Resources
- Safety and medical emergencies on medical grounds
- Health and wellness concerns at home
- Safety emergencies occurring at home
Trans Joy
In Closing
Section II: Scenarios: Test Your Knowledge
Scenario 1
Scenario 2
Scenario 3
Scenario 4
Scenario 5
Scenario 6
Scenario 7
Scenario 8
Scenario 9
Scenario 10
Scenario 11
Scenario 12
Scenario 13
Scenario 14
Scenario 15
Scenario 16
Section III Put Your Knowledge into Practice
Chapter 12: Assessing Your Workplace
- First Impressions
- Hiring Processes
- After Being Hired
- The Written Rules
- Introduction into the Learning Environment
- Assessing Your Medical Facility
Chapter 13: In the Medical Office and Collaborative Spaces
Chapter 14: Leadership and Learning Materials
Chapter 15: How to Implement Change
- Physical Space
- Inclusive Curricula and Printed Training Materials
In Closing
Afterword written by Danny Roberts, star of MTV’s The Real World: New Orleans
Appendix I: Opposition
- Community Leaders (including C-suite and Board Members)
- Medical Leaders (including Supervisors and Department Heads)
- Company Employees
- Employees’ Families (including parents, children, and other loved ones)
Appendix II: Suggested Readings & Resources
- Archives and Collections
- E-journals and online newspapers
- General Information About LGBT+ People and Issues
- History
- Law
- Religion
- National, Regional, and Local LGBT+ Health Initiatives and Organizations
- Select LGBT+ Health Publications
- LGBT-Related Medical Education Resources
- Provider Specific Resources
- Resources for LGBT+ People and Their Families
Appendix III: Suggested Reading for Youth
- General Books about LGBT+ Issues: Non-Fiction
- General Books about LGBT+ Issues: Fiction
- Families with Gay and Lesbian Parents or Other Adult Relatives: Non-Fiction
- Families with Gay and Lesbian Parents or Other Adult Relatives: Picture Books
- Families with Gay and Lesbian Parents or Other Adult Relatives: Fiction
- LGBT+ Children and Teens: Non-Fiction
- LGBT+ Children and Teens: Fiction
- Sex and Gender Identity/Gender Nonconformity
- Board Books
- Picture Books
- Middle Grade Fiction
- Young Adult Nonfiction
- Young Adult Fiction
- Graphic Novels
Biography
Kryss Shane, MS, MSW, LSW, LMSW (she/her) has been called a “Leading LGBT+ Expert” by The New York Times, Cosmopolitan Magazine, CNBC, Huffington Post, various Parent and Business magazines and websites, and by a wide variety of professional organizations due to her 23+ years of experience in this field. Kryss earned her Bachelor’s of Science at The Ohio State University in the field of Human Development and Family Sciences, her first Master’s degree in the field of Social Work at Barry University, and her second Master’s degree in the field of Education, specializing in Curriculum and Instruction at Western Governor’s University. She holds social work licenses in the states of Ohio and New York, as well as numerous certifications in topics including providing online-specific education, mental healthcare and LGBT+ youth, suicide prevention, and many, many, more. She travels the US working as a consultant, educator, and corporate trainer, as well as appearing at events and conferences as a keynote speaker, an author, and a writer, all of which focus on making schools, businesses, and community leaders more LGBT+ inclusive. In addition, she is currently a Teaching Associate at Columbia University and an Adjunct Professor at Brandman University. Throughout her career, Kryss has aided in the introduction of Gay Straight Alliances in numerous high schools, participated in the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., rallied for non-discrimination laws in numerous states, and has held or actively participated in meetings with numerous legislators to educate and encourage their participation in the Equality Movement. She has worked in concert with numerous equality-based organizations in a variety of roles to support, affirm, and celebrate the LGBT+ community. Kryss is well-versed in the areas of sexual and gender minorities including historical and current research. She has significant experience working with transgender youth, transgender military servicemembers, LGBT+ people struggling with suicidality, and others. This provides the foundation she uses to educate and guide professionals to better understand, accept, and communicate about and alongside the LGBT+ community. She continues to actively advocate for LGBT+ rights on the local, state, federal, and international levels.
The number one reason why gender-affirming care is so critical, is because it is lifesaving. There are few interventions in the modern medical era that we can truly call lifesaving, but gender-affirming care is one of those. We know that when gender-diverse individuals have access to an affirming and culturally and clinically competent healthcare provider, they have decreased rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality.
Gender-affirming care includes any aspect of healthcare that is delivered in a way that is informed by the lived experience of gender-diverse people with both cultural and clinical competence. It can include primary care, mental health support, gender-affirming hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery, any other specialty care for general health, and more.
Gender-affirming care education starts in our health profession schools including medical school, graduate medical education programs, nursing school, pharmacy school, public health school, physician assistant school, social work school, psychology programs, physical therapy, and more. We need more educational programs for healthcare professionals who have finished their training programs, who did not have access to gender-affirming care education while in school.
We know that gender-diverse individuals have better health outcomes when they have even one supportive person in their life. We can all provide gender-affirming care in whatever we do. A great place to start or continue to do that is by reading The Medical Professional’s Guide to LGBT+ Inclusion: Creating a Workplace Culture that Nurtures a Welcoming, Inclusive, and Affirming Environment.
Dr. Jerrica Kirkley, MD (she/her)
Chief Medical Officer and Co-founder of Plume
