“You must be Olivia! I’m Sara, and I’m going to be your nurse this afternoon.”

The patient looked up, taking a deep breath before speaking. “Actually . . . can you call me Ethan? I’ve been going by Ethan for the past six months, and I use he/they pronouns.” He watched Sara anxiously.

Sara stopped short for a moment, unsure what to do, seeing the name “Olivia” very clearly in the EHR. But she noticed how nervous the patient was, and she wanted to put him—them?—at ease.

Photo by Zackary Drucker/The Gender Spectrum Collection.

Providing informed, affirming care for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) patients can seem complex, especially for novice nurses. As authors Caitlin Marie Nye and Amanda Anderson point out in their October Transition to Practice column, nursing school curricula don’t sufficiently address TGD health, and nursing unpreparedness can perpetuate health inequities experienced by TGD individuals. The TGD population in the United States is estimated to be nearly 1 million.

Starting with the fundamentals.

In their article, Nye and Anderson offer guidance and tips for nurses new to caring for TGD patients, focusing on three critical areas of knowledge:

  • Gender and pronouns
  • Privacy considerations
  • Communication and advocacy

They also include a helpful glossary of terms people may use to describe their gender (for example, “nonbinary,” “genderfluid,” or “genderqueer”), as well as resources for further learning, such as training materials from the Fenway Institute’s LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center.

‘Keep best practices close.’

In sum, the authors advise:

Remember to keep best practices close and consider the experience of your patients and the positive impact your care may have on their health and healing. Be sure to also stay attuned to changes in policy and practice. If you start with these steps, you will be well on your way to providing great care to your TGD patients.

Their article, “Transgender and Gender Diverse Nursing Care,” is free to access through October 15.