Yesterday, I and three Trans* people I already knew, and two new friends now (6 of us) were guest speakers for first year medical students at the University Of Southern California's Keck Medical School who were in a Medical Ethics & Cultural Diversity class. There were 8 sections of the class and I was paired with a Trans*man for two back to back sections. They were looking for our experiences in the medical world as we became ourselves. I and my speaking partner are both post operative where the other Trans* folk there were non-op or CD only so when the entire class meets again today their leaders will compare notes from across the Transgender scene.
I wish we could have had about 3 times the time we did, but it was fun being the center of attention. One question they asked us was "what were your worst and best times with an M.D. and what were they like?" My best time of course was my SRS surgery and its aftercare. My worst that I shared was when I wanted a medical referral for Behavioral Health counseling because of my GD, and my personal physician only prescribed an industrial strength anti anxiety drug, without getting me to answer honestly about my alcohol usage at the time!! The AAD gave me enough help to begin a drinking bout that lasted 7 months and should have killed me!!
The big point that both of us on my panel made was that WE had been educating our care givers as we went along, but for the pair of us, it had not been as tragic as it could have been for other Trans* people who are more emotionally fragile and still frightened and unsure. The care givers who became partners with us were wonderful, the others, well, we have ceased to be their patients. Those were the worst experiences.
Naughty girl that I am, I picked a way to impress them that just because I am referred to as Transsexual, the term "sexual" which too many people get hung up on. I had brought one of my dilators along in my brief case and told them that THIS is my entire sex life at the minute and I did not see "Micky Mint" giving me an STD. I could tell my point got across from the groans and chuckles. I had also sent the group leaders who had e-mailed me two days before a copy of the report "Injustice At Every Turn" which gave some idea of the overall experiences of the Transgender population and asked them to forward it to the participants in their section, lest any one think my picture of the health care situations for TG folks are too rosy.
I did not sense ANY animosity or feeling of revulsion in either group I spoke to. I am pretty sensitive to those emotions from others after a lifetime of doing work that could be adversarial and threatening to many of my "clients". All of them were happy to see us and meet us as human beings who are normal and want to be healthy, we have just had a different trip to being that way. I also made the point, that I knew that all or most had their own personal spirituality that could enhance their practice of medicine if they let it, and could set aside the purely religious beliefs that would cloud their scientific judgement and make them prejudge their patients. (I noticed the M.D. advisor to the class nodding her head in full agreement with that.) I have some hope for you who are younger and could become their medical patients.
I'm kind of waiting for that lecture in our course. ;D I might even have a few thoughts to contribute myself... (after all IS people are often equally misunderstood).
From what I have heard the medical school that I attend has already seen a number of "full on" classically transsexual doctors pass through its doors, one of whom, I rather gather, transitioned whilst studying. I'm not sure quite how that would work, given the amount of intimate contact we have to have with patients, who can't really be expected to understand something like that, but credit to them for managing it.
HI Vicky,
I wish I could have been there, my old PCP was to be nice --Lacking--I now have one one who knows what is going on and has been a great help.Your taking the time to educate the medical students now should help those following in our footsteps have an easier time than we did. Thank You. Pat