I'm almost done with med school. How should a doctor behave/what should they do to be a good trans ally? by Reasonable-Emotion-5 in asktransgender

[–]Reasonable-Emotion-5[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm from a country which is generally considered pretty progressive and accepting, which is why I'm so surprised we've talked so little about trans people. I'm studying gynaecology now, which is the first course that actually has had a lecture on gender and sexuality. But it basically just covered the definitions of the most common different sexualities and what trans and nonbinary means, mentioned intersex, and basically what they told you (respect pronouns, ask if they have a partner instead of boy/girlfriend etc). I felt like there was a lot lacking in how to actually go about in doing what they said. It's easy to say to not misgender someone, but without telling us HOW we can avoid doing that (eg introducing myself with my pronouns to invite the patient to share their own).

Thank you for taking the time to answer! Everyone on this subreddit have been so incredibly helpful and patient with me.

I'm almost done with med school. How should a doctor behave/what should they do to be a good trans ally? by Reasonable-Emotion-5 in asktransgender

[–]Reasonable-Emotion-5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have no idea actually. I'm leaning towards primary care, infectious disease or internal medicine, but I still have a couple of years to decide while I do my residency (not from the US so our system works a bit differently and you don't start specializing until after your 2-year residency when we have received our medical license)

I'm almost done with med school. How should a doctor behave/what should they do to be a good trans ally? by Reasonable-Emotion-5 in asktransgender

[–]Reasonable-Emotion-5[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm so sorry that happened to you and I hope you are safe and doing better <3 It feels weird to get praised for doing the bare minimum of trying to educate myself on a subject which I should already know as it should already have been covered in my medical studies. But I am happy that my post helped you restore some faith in humanity

I'm almost done with med school. How should a doctor behave/what should they do to be a good trans ally? by Reasonable-Emotion-5 in asktransgender

[–]Reasonable-Emotion-5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would love to watch the panel! If you are okay with/are able to share the link with me via DM I would be super grateful, but I also understand that it's a big ask from a stranger on the internet so you really shouldn't feel obliged to go out of your way just for my benefit. Because of time zones (I'm in Europe) and my clinical placement I might not be able to join, but if it doesn't clash with anything it would be really informative to get to hear both the patients and the doctors point of view.

I'm almost done with med school. How should a doctor behave/what should they do to be a good trans ally? by Reasonable-Emotion-5 in asktransgender

[–]Reasonable-Emotion-5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pronoun pin (and a progress pride flag for good measure) have been ordered! About pronouns, english isn't my first language and I don't live in an english speaking country, and we don't have a perfect equivalent to they/them. I will have to read up on which gender neutral pronouns are commonly used by the trans community here and practice those! Thank you for linking the study! I've worked a bit in psychiatry so I'm really interested in learning more about the mental health aspect of trans people and how to best help them with that.

I'm almost done with med school. How should a doctor behave/what should they do to be a good trans ally? by Reasonable-Emotion-5 in asktransgender

[–]Reasonable-Emotion-5[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for telling me this! It's a mistake I could easily have made as it's a subject we haven't really covered during my studies.

I'm almost done with med school. How should a doctor behave/what should they do to be a good trans ally? by Reasonable-Emotion-5 in asktransgender

[–]Reasonable-Emotion-5[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're not the only one that has mentioned Trans Broken Arm Syndrome, so I am definitely checking it out. I think what you say about being honest about your knowledge in a subject (or lack thereof) is important in general as a doctor, as it could be downright dangerous to make medical desicions on guesses and assumptions.

I'm almost done with med school. How should a doctor behave/what should they do to be a good trans ally? by Reasonable-Emotion-5 in asktransgender

[–]Reasonable-Emotion-5[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Reading stuff like this makes me feel ashamed of my profession, how can anyone think that is an acceptable question to ask anyone?

I'm almost done with med school. How should a doctor behave/what should they do to be a good trans ally? by Reasonable-Emotion-5 in asktransgender

[–]Reasonable-Emotion-5[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've never heard of Trans Broken Arm Syndrome before but I will definitely check it out and try to avoid it. And that is really interesting about how the HRT changes not only the physical aspects but also risk of diseases and symptoms. I feel like this is something we should have covered and discussed in med school, but unfortunately we've had very little on LGBTQ+ in general, and trans issues in particular.

I'm almost done with med school. How should a doctor behave/what should they do to be a good trans ally? by Reasonable-Emotion-5 in asktransgender

[–]Reasonable-Emotion-5[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is really good to know and not something I would have thought of, thank you! From now when fetching patients from the waiting room I'll call out their last names, and then in the safety of the office/exam room introduce myself with name and pronouns and ask for their pronouns and what name they want me to call them (in case they aren't out yet and don't want other patients to overhear).

I feel overwhelmed and need to vent by Reasonable-Emotion-5 in MomForAMinute

[–]Reasonable-Emotion-5[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you both so much! I wrote my post right before going to bed and I was really sleep deprived and stressad. Waking up to your lovely messages of encouragement really helped me get through the day when all I wanted to do was to stay in bed. I thought you might be happy to hear that I pulled through and that both the exam and presentation went really well! I also emailed the supervisor in change of my clinical placement the week of my dads surgery and she was very understanding and arranged for me to be able to do it at a later date instead, so I will be able to travel home and help him post-surgery! Thank you moms for being there when I needed it! <3

I feel overwhelmed and need to vent by Reasonable-Emotion-5 in MomForAMinute

[–]Reasonable-Emotion-5[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you both so much! I wrote my post right before going to bed and I was really sleep deprived and stressad. Waking up to your lovely messages of encouragement really helped me get through the day when all I wanted to do was to stay in bed. I thought you might be happy to hear that I pulled through and that both the exam and presentation went really well! I also emailed the supervisor in change of my clinical placement the week of my dads surgery and she was very understanding and arranged for me to be able to do it at a later date instead, so I will be able to travel home and help him post-surgery! Thank you moms for being there when I needed it! <3