DB Chapter 7

Discussion Board: Chapter 7
**Please see attached document to assist you in answering the following questions
 
1.    How can the nurse’s preexisting bias or lack of cultural competence hinder positive health outcomes when providing care to LGBTQ persons and families? What steps can the nurse take in order to ensure the most optimal outcomes?
2.    Consider how your own family is self‐defined. How could the health of your family of choice be affected because of legal or social definitions of family?
Please respond to two fellow classmates. No references needed other than the book unless you need it. ** Please use responses from my classmates below to complete the response.
 
 
**PEER 1 (Brittany)**
As much as we are not supposed to let bias affect our work, it happens in every day life.  There are many ways that an LGBTQ person can suffer as a result of the nurse’s preexisting bias/lack of competence.  For example, if the patient does not feel comfortable discussing their problems with the nurse because the nurse is acting biased towards them, they will not get the testing/medications/care that they need as a result.  One example is regarding sexual health.  If the patient is not comfortable because he/she can tell the nurse is biased, they may not tell the nurse that they had been assaulted, which could lead to potential unwanted pregnancy or STIs or other health concerns.  The nurse needs to check their bias at the door when they come to work.  They need to see the patient as a patient and not someone being judged.  
I have a very traditional family with just my husband, our dog, and I.  We are married with no children or adult dependents.  Because we are so cut and dry with our family situation, there are not many legal implications I can see coming up, or our healthcare suffering as a result.  Prior to being married when we were living together, I can see how issues may have risen because we shared assets and he was my point of contact, but not legally married.  
 
**PEER 2 (LEAH)**
1.    How can the nurse’s preexisting bias or lack of cultural competence hinder positive health outcomes when providing care to LGBTQ persons and families? If the nurse does not become educated on the LGBTQ community they run the risk of making the patient feel hurt or offended. Building a good vocabulary related to the LGBTQ community is a complicated task (Kaakinen et al., 2018, p. 182). Not referring to the patient by the correct pronoun may hurt their feelings and hinder trust between the patient and healthcare system. Often times the LGBTQ community already feels judged and out of place. The best thing a nurse can do is to make them feel cared for like they would any other patient from a different background. What steps can the nurse take in order to ensure the most optimal outcomes? The first step is to learn about the patient. The nurse should learn what the patient wants to be called and referred to as. It is a hard task. I have worked with a good majority of patients that identify as part of the LGBTQ community and sometimes it is hard to not accidentally call someone who looks female by female pronouns. I think the patients feel better about their care as long as they see the nurse is trying. If the nurse inquires about what the patient wants and makes effort to meet that then the patient is usually happy. Nurses should be educated on the LGBTQ community.
2.    Consider how your own family is self‐defined. How could the health of your family of choice be affected because of legal or social definitions of family? My son’s biological father is not around. My husband has basically been the only father he knows. By law he is not his father, but to our family he is. I have a step daughter as well. I play a big part in her life. I think of her as my own child and treat her as such. She has been through a lot. She has had to have chemo and a bone marrow transplant. I can not legally make any healthcare decisions for her because I’m her step mother. We are family regardless of the rules society has for a family.
 
Reference
Kaakinen, J. R., Coehlo, D. P., Steele, R., & Robinson, M. (2018). Family health care nursing: Theory, practice, and research. F.A. Davis Company.