Effective and Affirming Communication with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Patients

Abstract

Bias is an important but often misunderstood factor in our learning. Too often, when faced with a novel or uncomfortable situation or set of facts, we fall back on what feels comfortable or familiar to us or adopt a stance of “neutrality.” In this instance, neutrality indicates deference to the status quo and an assumption of heteronormative and cisgender identities. Unfortunately, in medical education, this stance can effectively erase or make invisible those patients that do have unique needs, and for whom an awareness of minority identities can make the difference between affirming and competent care, or merely adequate care, or, at worst, stigmatizing care. In this roundtable discussion, we will explore methods by which clinicians and practitioners can utilize more inclusive, non‐stigmatizing, and exploratory language to create more effective, affirming, and inclusive learning environments. Critical to this practice is the knowledge and exploration of our biases and how they affect our assumptions and interactions, and what we can do to help moderate their potential influence, both in education and in practice.