As a registered nurse and health care writer and editor for more than 25 years, I routinely wrote or assigned stories to other writers about the health of LGBT individuals. I valued these stories not only because I was a nurse, but also because I thought the subject was worthy of coverage. I believed our nurse readers should be aware of the specific health needs of their LGBT patients.
I followed LGBT issues even more closely when my son told my husband and I that he was gay about four years ago. At that time, I was working again as a nurse. Unfortunately, I quickly realized to my dismay and disappointment that there are far too many homophobic health care providers.
It never occurred to me that some physicians and nurses might discriminate against gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgendered individuals. I am pretty certain that during my nursing education I was taught to be nonjudgmental and to care for the physical and emotional needs of all my patients, no matter who they were or how I might personally feel about them. And as a journalist, it was hammered into my head to be objective and to gather the facts wherever the story may lead. My opinions didn’t count.
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