Today we are celebrating the amazing victory in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality! For all of us who are part of GLMA, we have a very special reason to celebrate this landmark achievement, because GLMA was a significant player in the legal processes involved to make this ruling possible! Our establishment of the GLMA Nursing Section coincides with the past 18 months in which the legal and advocacy work of filing an amicus brief on this case was happening, with the leadership of our GLMA Executive Director, Hector Vargas! The GLMA amicus brief provided important arguments based on evidence of the implications of marriage for the health of LGBT people and their families. Here is the video of the remarks made by the lead plaintiff in the case, Jim Obergefell, soon after the decision was announced. If you watch carefully, you will catch glimpses of Hector just over Jim’s right shoulder, there in person to join the celebration of this landmark decision! Take a few minutes to watch this .. Jim’s story is a prime example of the importance of this ruling for the health, happiness, dignity and security for so many individuals and families in our communities!
Hot off the press — this past week-end the GLMA Board gave us a green light to proceed with the project that the “Organizational Climate” workgroup initiated last fall! This project centers around a brief 10-item Scale that can be used to assess key factors that create a positive climate for LGBTQ nurses, and contribute to ending homophobia and discrimination against LGBTQ nurses.
We will now proceed with the plan for the project, and will unveil the details at the Nursing Summit on September 24th! The Scale itself will be available on the Nursing Section website, as well as guidelines for using the Scale. The Organizational Climate Workgroup will use our workgroup time at the Summit to refine the plan for moving this project through an initial ‘beta” phase, with enhanced resources on the web site, and plans for encouraging nurses and organizational leaders who are interested in being involved!
Please plan to join us to hep support this important project! Several of the other workgroups will be involved in helping with resources and follow-through on this project, so if you are interested in one of the other workgroups, that will be fine — you will still be able to involved in moving this project along! If you cannot be present at the Summit to join the Climate workgroup for the next phase, contact us now using the contact form on our workgroup page!
This is a project that can make a huge difference for all of us — LGBTQ nurses as well as our allies! So join us if you can!
Many of us have done our share of moaning and groaning about the lack of LGBTQ visibility and action in nursing – action to educate all students about LGBTQ health, action to speak out against homophobia that effects all of us, action to support LGBTQ research. So now is the time to recognize a great opportunity to get involved in a way that can begin to change the status quo! This opportunity is [drum roll!] the GLMA Nursing Section! This is not the very first organized attempt to address LGBTQ issues in nursing, but it is the very important contemporary opportunity that is available to all! Even if you think that there is next to nothing that you can do, you can join GLMA and the Nursing Section. Your membership is a vitally important statement of solidarity in this historic event to bring nursing to the table where the voices of LGBT activists are indeed heard, and where concrete action is happening.
To join, go to the GLMA web site and set up your membership today! While you are there, check out what is planned for the September GLMA Nursing Summit and GLMA annual conference in Portland, Oregon. We posted the tentative agenda for the Summit on this blog earlier this month, and the planning team is hard at work getting everything ready for a productive and inspiring time together! We will post more information here (and on the GLMA nursing email list) as we get closer to September. Of course all of this is to inspire you to join us if you can, but even if you can’t, your being connected and informed if in fact an action! So stay tuned to stay informed, and pass along this information to everyone you can possibly reach!
Nathan Leavitt’s article titled “Clinical Care for Transgender Patients with Cancer”has just appeared in the June issue of Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. Here is the citation information: CJON 2015, 19(3), 362-366 DOI: 10.1188/15. You can also access the article here!
Yes indeed! Our 2015 GLMA Nursing Summit is coming up soon, and early-bird registration is even sooner! To get the best possible rate for your conference registration, do it before July 29th. Check out the details here. The flat rate for the Nursing Summit is $125, which includes a networking lunch!
This will be a very important opportunity as we celebrate the completion of our first year as a GLMA Nursing Section, and our third Nursing Summit! As in the years past, this is a marvelous opportunity to bask in the glow of being in a community where LGBTQ identities are celebrated, and share our common hopes and dreams for the future of LGBT health for ourselves and for those we serve!
Here is the preliminary agenda that the planning chair, Caitlin Stover, just sent!
The goal of the GLMA Nursing Summit is to bring together LGBT and ally nurses and nurse supporters to further the GLMA Nursing Section Action Plan to improve critical LGBT issues in the nursing profession. The summit will provide a forum for mentorship, support, and networking for attendees in the areas of research, education and training, policy, climate, and patient care.
Describe the development of the GLMA Nursing Summit and Section, including foundational accomplishments in nursing related to LGBT health.
Review and build upon the progress made by GLMA Nursing Section workgroups (education and training, patient/clinical care, policy, research, and climate) over the past year.
Apply new skills to facilitate workgroup outcomes.
Agenda:
11:00-12:00 Welcome & Introduction to the Nursing Section of GLMA
1:45-2:45 Skills Building Breakout Session (TBD-but we anticipate three different breakouts that will meet for the hour, participants chose one)
2:45-3:00 Break & Posters
3-3:45 Work Group Meetings
3:45-4:30 Nursing Section Business Meeting (includes the workgroup reports)
4:45 GLMA Plenary
Here is a little preview — a video from the Oregon ACLU featuring Christine Tanner and Lisa Chickadonz, which shares their journey fighting first for domestic partner benefits in Oregon, and more recently for marriage equality! Many of us know Chris as the former Editor of the Journal of Nursing Education, and as a leader in revolutionizing connections between AD and BS nursing programs nationwide! As you see from the agenda above, Chris will be our honored guest and Keynote Speaker!
GLMA Nursing 