Notes on the Ethics of Reflection

Posted on July 8, 2016 by | 1 comment
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Sharon A. Dobie MCP, MD

It is important that we reflect and write about the work we do with patients. As we reflect, we create a narrative that sometimes becomes a written piece. We cannot really tell our stories without including the patients because it is actually our perception of the patients and their stories. And yet, we also have a covenant of confidentiality with our patients. Beyond what HIPAA says, we live within ethical considerations that must protect our patients.

What then can we do when we write and then want to share that writing with a friend, in a blog, or for a journal submission?

When writing about patients, we must respect these ethical considerations. In an evolving set of guidelines, the best practice remains to show what we write to the person about whom we wrote. That is what I encourage writers to do whenever possible. It can be scary and it is always fruitful. You might learn more about the story, about the person, about yourself, and the bias inherent in your viewpoint. That information might lead you to add to or edit your reflection. Then what you have is a co-creation, and your patients will feel valued and respected. Alternatively, these conversations may also clarify reasons to not publish the piece.

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Posted in Education, Medical School, Residency, Uncategorized

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Clinical Teaching for LGBT Health at the Point of Care

Posted on June 27, 2016 by | 2 comments
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Sarah E. Stumbar, MD, MPH

“Do you live with your husband, too?” the second-year medical student asked, innocently enough. It was our first visit with this patient, a healthy middle-aged African American woman. We were just chatting, trying to get to know her, and I had picked up on little clues in our conversation that had already led me to conclude that there was no husband in the picture. The medical student, though, didn’t seem to have picked up on this and, I thought, was trying to get at her sexual history by asking, instead, about her husband.

A few seconds of an awkward, heavy silence followed his question, until the patient forcefully said, “I’m an independent woman.” There was no room left open in her tone for further discussion, and our conversation quickly moved onto other topics.

Later, after the visit, I challenged the medical student to go back to that question and think of all of its assumptions: a heterosexual relationship, the need for a husband to have a child, the assumption that asking about a husband equated to asking a sexual history. I could see the student processing all of this, as he squinted his eyes and stated, “I come from a very conservative family.”

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Transgender Is Not a Verb: Three Ways to Provide Compassionate Care to Trans Patients

Posted on June 14, 2016 by | 2 comments

By Stephanie Aldrin, Medical Student

According to the Institute of Medicine, transgender and gender nonconforming patients access health care less often than their cisgender counterparts. And when transgender patients do seek medical attention, it is often with more serious ailments.1 While many factors contribute to these disparities, health care providers can play a crucial role in reducing the stigma associated with seeing the doctor and in promoting safer health care environments for the trans members of our communities.

In fall 2015, the clinic I work at, Smiley’s Family Medicine Clinic, asked its patients who identify as transgender or gender nonconforming to speak candidly about their experiences accessing primary care. I remember scrambling to take notes as I listened to the patients’ stories and feeling grateful for the opportunity to have this small window into the challenges of seeking health care as a trans person.

Three major themes emerged from the patients’ experiences. First, small changes in language can positively impact the way a patient feels during and after an encounter with health care providers. Second, trans patients see their doctors for a number of reasons, and, like their cisgender counterparts, want to be seen as any other patient and not have their gender identity be the focus of the visit. Finally, positive partnerships occur when physicians come into the exam room as their authentic selves, who genuinely care about the patient in front of them.

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Posted in LGBT Health Collaborative

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