I’m sure you meant no harm. You took an oath to do no harm.
I’m sure you felt uncomfortable. I’m sure you were rushed.
But you hurt her. She came to us asking for help, just wanting to breathe.
You made an assumption. You called her, “him,” a pronoun she has despised her whole life.
This is a story about a transgender patient I took care of recently who was misgendered by someone else who was taking care of her. This happened before I walked in the room to introduce myself. It took me less than five seconds to ask her, “what are your pronouns?” She responded, “she/her/hers,” with a smile on her face. I immediately felt that I had gained her trust.
I will take this experience forward with me in my future practice of medicine. We are busy. We work long nights sometimes. It might be uncomfortable to ask patients what their pronouns are. But it makes a difference. Our patients have likely experienced discrimination in the past, and we need to remember that. We need to create a safe space within our hospital. It only takes a few seconds to ask, “what are your pronouns?”
Story: Jacob Houser Picture Credit: Claire Schenken
