I had an issues with a male nurse during a recent visit to the ER! Here is the letter I sent to OutFront MN for some advice. It is just a synopses of what happen I will go into great detail in my further complaints/actions agains the hosptial.
Any advice received from any source will be appreciated and much needed;

Dear Phil,
I need to start by stating that I am a MTF pre-op transsexual and intersex person who has been in transition for over 6 years. I have legally changed my name and gender to female with the state and all other legal papers were possible.

On Wednesday June 30th 2010 had to be rushed to Regions hospital for a cellulitis infection on my right breast. While I was in the ER being checked in and evaluated I was assigned a nurse/phlebotomist to draw blood to check for blood infection, etc.

The moment the male nurse walked in he started to refer to me as he, him his. He was corrected  by me and then my girlfriend who was with me. He then said she once with no apology offered and went back to referring to me very loudly to his exchange intern with improper pronouns over and over again. I must add that he did this emphatically and almost jokingly. He then asked to see my breast and I showed it to him and he drew a line around it and dated it to mark the infection perimeter.

He even went as far as to joke saying I need to get some coffee so I can get pronouns proper.. smirking and rolling his eyes at his intern while doing it.

He left the room and came back as it was deemed that I needed to be admitted to the hospital and he needed to start an IV drip for antibiotics. As he is telling his intern how to insert the vein catheter and again referring to me as him, his, etc. I corrected him again! He showed the intern how to do it his on me. He is doing this the whole time while drawing samples and this was so upsetting to me that my blood pressure spiked and I started to faint.

He again left the room so they could fill out the admission forms and take inventory or my personal items so I could be moved to a hospital room.

About 30 minutes later the same male nurse comes back in and is prancing around like a straight man imitating a flamboyant gay man. Still referring to me as him, he, his for about another 25 minutes. So for about 2 hours or so I had to deal with this open and aggressive harassment of me in front of my girlfriend none the less.

He was corrected by me or my girlfriend a few times yet continued to harass me and even went above and beyond to make sure he could use as many incorrect pronouns as possible. It makes it worse knowing that my chart/computer said female as do my records with them unless he went back into them to 1998. My wristband which I showed him cause it was right where he was inserting the catheter for the IV said 42yo FEMALE. Due to having primary hypogonadism I pass as a woman without the need to wear make up and my hair is to the middle of my back. So there is no way he would be able to pick me out of a crowd as being male unles I told him.

Things got better and was treated with respect after I was admitted and moved upstairs to a private room. Almost seemed as if they treated me better to compensate for the horrible treatment I got in the ER.
I have been traumatized by this and horrified and anxiety ridden since this happened. I have barely been able to eat or sleep and this is played out again in the nightmares when I am able to sleep. Even my girlfriend has been traumatized by this. So this has permanently affected my future ability to seek care for anything.

I need you help as to what to do. Do I contact the Hospital about this? MN dept of human rights? A lawyer? Newspapers? I really don't know but something needs to be done so this person doesn't keep doing this. Also that I can get some closure and try to overcome the anxiety and stress this is causing me.
I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read this and would appreciate any advice you could share with me.
Thanks in advance
Ms. Jonni S

That is it in a nutshell. I will post his response and updates as soon as I can.

Did I hear someone say ATTORNEY TIME?!?!?!

Reading about your experience Jonni just makes me so angry.    You were there for treatment and in a very vulnerable state, and this a** takes advantage of his position to harass and humiliate you. I would be tempted to lay him out, honestly.

What a *******! He has no right to treat you like that, he has no right to even work there!

I would fight it if I were you, and I hope he damn well loses his job. He is an absolute disgrace. 

Did you get this guy's name?

It's lucky that you had your friend with you for substantiation.

It's too bad that you didn't snap a photo of him or make a recording on a cell phone.

Quote from: Jonni on July 04, 2010, 07:17:58 PM
I need you help as to what to do. Do I contact the Hospital about this? MN dept of human rights? A lawyer? Newspapers? I really don't know but something needs to be done so this person doesn't keep doing this. Also that I can get some closure and try to overcome the anxiety and stress this is causing me.

the hospitals in st paul generally suck (helltheast isn't any better, united may be less bad)

from the web site

QuoteInquiries or complaints regarding medical treatment or the Patients' Bill of Rights may also be directed to:

Patient Representatives          (651) 254-2372

Minnesota Board of Medical Practice
2829 University Avenue SE
Suite 400
Minneapolis, MN 55414-3246
(612) 617-2130 or (800) 657-3709

http://www.humanrights.state.mn.us/intake/index.html
DHR might help but expect things to take months, they have a large caseload at the moment

I was treated badly at the ER in Santa Cruz,Calif. when I got hit by a car on my bicycle years ago

I wish I would have known more about how to go about suing people then... I still have physical difficulties related to the accident

I'm not in the USA, but I work in hospitals. Contacted the patient advocate, probably another name in the USA. Put your complaint and evidence in writing to them, and to the head of nursing, and the head of ER. The head of anything if you get my drift, state exactly what happened to you, as you have. INSIST that the complaint is dealt with. Then sue the living c**p out of them. Finding a lawyer to handle this on a no result no charge would I assume to be easy.

BTW. Nothing will happen if the complaint isn't in writing. Not an email, not a text ; a letter. Preferably registered so you have proof it has been delivered.

This creep needs to  be removed from an ER environment.


Cindy

Ugh I'm sorry girl. I would have been beside myself, so upset. Friggin disgusting.

He sounds like a real douchebag who needs to be both sacked and taught a lesson.

I notice you mentioned primary hypogonadism - I have it myself (via Noonan's Syndrome), but as NS usually has the normal male karyotype I don't pass as any close to feminine. I can't make my own testosterone and have only one testicle, which was brought down when I was little (the other was located and removed in my late teens). If I may ask, what is the cause of your primary hypogonadism?

that's unacceptable. you've corrected him, and he chooses to mock you. that's no way a nurse should be treating a patient. if you can get him charged for emotional abuse, do it. you should also report the incident to the person in charge of the hospital you went to so he gets fired

I doubt the hospital will fire him and they will support him since they are not wanting to lose staff. It is totally disgusting you were treat in such a manner. They will protect their interests. Even if you complain to whom is in charge remember here in the u.s. they often look at the bottom line money,so sue the living hell out of them.

If you've got his name, then make a complaint! Even if it doesn't help, at least you've taken your chances. People don't want stupid nurses acting like smart-asses to tend to them...
If you don't take your chance, you'll lose anyway. And by taking that chance, you may prevent other patients from running into that nurse.

File a complaint against the hospital and the person through your states medical board X)  They will have to spend allot to go defend themselves and could be fined heavily and loose there licensees and so on.

Get a trans legal organization to look into it. My friend did that in my city with an employee who dissed him, and the org flew in an attorney right away to speak to the management. The employee was apparently fired on the spot. Of course, I believe the offense took place in a state-run office that was subject to state nondiscrimination laws, but still...