Pride in health care during Pride Month: Are we ready for a dignified health care for LGBTQI+ patients?

(Tanushree Rao, Unsplash)

June is a beautiful month not only due to summer weather in Poland but also because Pride Month takes over the entire world. Millions of pictures with #Pride, art happenings and parades are only few ways of celebrating it. But what should be equally important for a medical student is to think about health care that is suitable for LBGTQI+ people and their needs.  

A perfect health care system? I imagine it as a system where individual no matter how different from a “coursebook statistical patient” doesn’t feel judged. A health care system in which a patient can feel comfortable or uncomfortable with particular procedures yet doesn’t have to feel ashamed to say it. A system where patients are treated with sufficient knowledge about LGBTQI+ health and given attention and time.

Ways of reaching such health care system are various, however, every change begins with a new mindset. Providing us change the approach of health care works, show them their prejudice and stereotypes we can begin to build a new heath care.

Every small step matters. A great example for „language sensitivity” was a lecture and workshops by Prof. Dr. Jochen Sven Utikal about 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine. In his lecture he used a language that didn’t stigmatised the patient despite their disfiguring dermatological conditions and was perfectly gender neutral.

Furthermore, meeting Dr. Alexis C Johnson, the creator of Pineapple Laboratories, and discussing the gender and health issues was a real blessing not only for me but also for many other participants of the discussion during the Theme Event on IFMSA March Meeting General Assembly. A moment when many future doctors started to perceive LGBTQI+ patients as people who deserve changes to get dignified health care. Various conferences about LGBTQI+ Health are held every year, especially in the USA- such as: SoCal LGBTQI+ Health Conference in Irvine and GLMA Conference on LGBTQ Health in New Orleans.

So how exactly can we change health care systems around the world to provide LGBTQI+ patients with what they need and deserve? First of all, by spreading the conversation. Perhaps creating LGBTQI+ conferences in other countries, hopefully also in my homeland, Poland. Making workshops for doctors and medical students on language sensitivity, doctor-patient communication and health difficulties of LGBTQI+ patients. I believe in changes performed one step at a time like a change in every day communication routine of health care works.

Are we ready to provide a respectful, non-discrimatory health care? I don’t know. Yet there is a lot happening in this matter. Every time a patient enters our office we can try to make a difference in our communication and encourage other colleagues to do the same. I once read a quote: „The equality starts when the dialogue about it ends”. I hope that one day LGBTQI+ people will no longer be a contriversy for anyone, then I could say that we are equal.