America’s emergency rooms are struggling with a serious problem: That male patient they believed was a Mark when he checked in at the front desk?
Well, he’s actually a Marsha.
And doctors simply aren’t prepared to deal with the confusion that comes with gender surprises, an emergency physician revealed in a New York Times column published Thursday.
“Sometimes the patient is registered as the wrong gender immediately from triage, resulting in a strained communication from the get-go,” writes emergency-room Dr. Helen Ouyang in her column, “A transgender learning gap in the emergency room.”
When ER staff members become confused about a patient’s gender, they don’t know whether to call the person a “he” or “she,” Ouyang writes.
“Other times, a staff member lets out a surprised gasp as a patient undresses for a physical exam,” she said. “Then there are moments when providers call a patient a ‘he/she’ or ‘they’ on rounds.”
The medical staffs’ reactions are not due to hatefulness or mockery – just ignorance, according to the doctor.
“None of this, for the most part, is out of malice,” she writes. “Instead it’s because of our own ignorance – and stems from our lack of education and training on providing sensitive and evidence-based care for transgender patients.”
Ouyang urges her medical peers to learn more about transgender health issues. In fact, she claims, familiarizing oneself with transgender concerns is just as imperative as studying up on saving the life of a heart-attack patient.
“But the first step is simply recognizing our own deficiencies – and realizing that learning about transgender health is as pressing as mastering dosages of the newest cholesterol-lowering drug or memorizing the latest protocol for resuscitating a patient from cardiac arrest,” Ouyang explains.
Compared with the general population, transgender patients are less likely to have health insurance and four times more likely to live in poverty, according to Ouyang, who suggested these facts explain why “the emergency room serves as a particularly important safety net for these patients.”
The doctor says America’s medical school curricula “are not sufficiently addressing the health needs and concerns of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.”
Why is all this happening? In his widely acclaimed new book, “The Snapping of the American Mind,” award-winning journalist David Kupelian stunningly documents – in a chapter titled “Gender Madness” – precisely what the transgender phenomenon is really all about. Prepare to be shocked.
According to the American Medical Student Association, 62 percent of transgender people experience depression, 41 percent have attempted suicide, 30 percent smoke daily and 26 percent use drugs and alcohol.
The AMSA also says one-in-five transgender people postponed or did not seek medical care in 2014 “because of fear of discrimination.” Additionally, 29 percent of transgender people claim they’ve had to educate their health care provider about transgender health issues.
The Twitter hashtag #TransHealthFail, launched in August 2015, documents negative experiences from transgender patients who claim to have sought medical care. Some include:
- “When was your last period? -#trnshealthfail” – Jack
- “Me: my shoulder hurts. GP: how did you get them to write male on your file? Me: I am male. GP: not really @CissexismDaily #TransHealthFail.” – Kid
- “Doc: Don’t know how 2 treat people like u and I don’t want 2 know. Me: You’re the only GP my ins covers. Doc: *shrug* #transhealthfail.” – Meredith Russo
- Â “In Oct. [Blue Cross Blue Shield] said surgery would be covered, but months later they still haven’t provided approval. #TransHealthFail.” – Kyra
- “Me: I’m convulsing after getting a head injury. Doc: OK but it says you’re trans-. Me: If I end up dead I’m blaming you. #transhealthfail.” – Toki Wartooth
- “Legal name change: Nice. Can’t pick up meds b/c name doesn’t match name on now-outdated insurance: Hell. #transhealthfail.” – AJ Catt
- “Went to ER for concerns about possible burst ovarian cyst. Told doctor I was transgender and she asked if I had testicles. #TransHealthFail.” – A lizard
- “Already been misgendered by nurse twice. Bang up job. #transhealthfail.” – what if i was wrong?
- “Doctor: Date of your last period? Me: About 6 months ago? Doctor: ??? Me: Testosterone stops menstruation. Doctor: Oh #TransHealthFail.” – Raybert
- “Doctor wouldn’t submit my medical form and let me leave until I ‘chose a gender.’ Still not a girl, thanks. #transhealthfail.” – Scared and Gay
- “My doctor called my d–k a ‘male part’ then got uppity with me when I called him on it. #TransHealthFail.” – Daddy J
- “Do you know how often I’m pestered about getting a pap smear or chance I’m pregnant before X-rays? I DON’T HAVE A F—ING UTERUS!” – Jenny V #PunchNazis
As WND recently reported, the transgender issue has also caused confusion in the world of athletic sports. Across America and around the world, biological males are joining women’s teams, smashing records and dominating in sports such as weightlifting, softball, cycling, track, wrestling, football, volleyball, dodgeball, handball, cricket, golf, basketball and mixed martial arts.
In one case, transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox, born a man, gave his female opponent a concussion and broke her eye socket in 2015. The woman, Tamikka Brents, suffered a serious eye injury from a damaged orbital bone and needed seven staples after she fought Fox. The TKO came at 2:17 during the first round of their match.
Brents said, “I’ve never felt so overpowered in my life.”
“I’ve fought a lot of women and have never felt the strength that I felt in a fight as I did that night,” she said. “I can’t answer whether it’s because she was born a man or not, because I’m not a doctor. I can only say I’ve never felt so overpowered in my life, and I am an abnormally strong female in my own right.”
Brents said Fox’s “grip was different.”
“I could usually move around in the clinch against … females but couldn’t move at all in Fox’s clinch.”