Quote from: Elainagirl59 on April 28, 2014, 12:14:09 AM
Hi Kylie,
Welcome to Susan's. I saw your post on Allnurses earlier this week. I think the responses there were really enthusiastic and supportive overall.
Post transition I worked as a CNA for about 3 years. Working in a Long Term Care Center, I didn't have any problems.
I have been speaking to local nursing students at a local community college for the last 3 semesters. The response of the students has been really positive, in terms of wanting to do better job caring for trans patients. I have also spoken to the instructors about returning to school for a nursing degree, I have received nothing but positive feedback and encouragement.
The only negative response has been from my sister, who is an RN. She was sure "that no patient would let someone like me touch them." My experience was completely opposite.
Best Wishes,
Elaina
Thanks!
Yeah, I was shocked by the positive and indifferent responses to my post. I actually wanted to hear more from the people that were against it so i could learn what their major fears were and what I could do to make it easier for everyone. Even the poor guy who was against it was very civil and kind about it. All of the support really gave me a boost to explore and progress. That post was actually made just a couple days after I finally gave up the fight and admitted who I am and that it isn't going to go away. Had it gone poorly, I might have stopped moving forward, and probably wouldn't have found this awesome site! I tried to convey it in my posts, but I don't think people will ever know what a difference their little notes of support meant to me and my future.
That is so awesome that you speak with the students, and have had their support in going through their program! That is exactly as it should be! I hope you go for it if that is what you want to do! I know I sound like I have a pessimistic outlook for my transition prospects, but with all of the support and new info, it is changing to the point where I am now in the last day really beginning to consider transition before I have a job. I actually discussed it with my therapist today. Everyone did advise me to get the job first though, so I might not have been so wrong on that fear.
The culture of my nursing school is probably what built my fears into something greater than they should have been. It was in a very conservative area of Missouri, and I have never seen so many judgmental/cliquish people in my life (this included about half of the instructors as well). We didn't have a single minority, only one gay guy who was treated very poorly by many of the students and at least two of the instructors. He was treated as more of an oddity than a person. I seriously took care of every HIV+ patient that we had in my clinical rotation because even in this day and age, and with their extra nursing education, they were either too scared or bigoted to do it. I am so glad to learn that this is not anywhere close to normal.
On a final note, I just want to say how awesome you are for not only having the courage to transition and be yourself, but also to stick around and work to make things better for everyone else who is faced with this. You could easily go stealth and leave so many difficult issues behind, but you don't and I am so impressed by that! I thought being stealth in the end was the only way I could handle going through this or feel whole, but even that has changed recently. I am beginning to feel like I have a duty to others to not only come out, but to stay out and work for change no matter how "passable" I become.