Greetings!

Hello to All!  I want to first thank Peggy for allowing me this opportunity to serve the GLMA Nursing Section in this very small capacity of writing on the Blog.  I certainly hope to become more involved as time evolves.

As stated in my bio, my interests center around the psychosocial concerns of LGBT veterans, I’m also interested in gay men’s health issues and other concerns of sexual minorities.  As I told Peggy, I’m totally dismayed by the lack of nursing research on LGBT healthcare, it’s certainly my intent to change this to a small degree.

I just completed a literature search on Military Sexual Trauma, in general but specific to male rape victims.  I’m also curious as to whether there are LGBT considerations to be discovered.  I plan to do some reading and writing on this over the weekend and post it on this blog.  Have a great weekend and feel free to contact me.

Introducing our new GLMA Nursing Web Team!

I am delighted to let everyone know that we have formed a GLMA Nursing web management team!  We have three members of the team – myself (Peggy Chinn, Nursing Section Recorder), Tiffany Cook and Dennis Hargis.  We welcome new folks any time .. if you want to join us, just let us know (you can use the Contact Form here)

Our goals include:

  • Blog Regularly every other Thursday (more if we can)
  • Provide, through the blog, a discussion forum for all GLMA members and friends focused on items that are included in the GLMA digest, and encourage participation
  • Also feature content that is broadly LGBTQ-focuesd that is prompted by national holidays, observances and celelbrations.
  • Improve our social media reach to promote LGBTQ health and quality nursing care for LGBTQ individuals and families.
  • Participate actively with GLMA staff and board members to plan for future development of GLMA on the web.

If you have not yet met Tiffany and Dennis, you will want to get to know them!  Here is a brief introduction!

Tiffany Cook

A digital native, Tiffany is very excited to be joining the GLMA Nursing Web Team. In her current position as the Training and Professional Development Program Coordinator at NYU School of Medicine’s Office of Diversity Affairs she is diligently working to assess and improve curricular content within undergraduate medical education related to cultural Tiffanycompetence and LGBTQI health. Prior to joining NYU School of Medicine, she served as the Executive Director of Praxis Clinical, where she developed and provided clinical skills workshops on gynecological and andrological exams, ultrasound exams, sexual assault forensic exams, and LGBTQI/DSD+ health for a variety of nursing and medical programs across the northeast region, including NYU, the Connecticut Office of Victim Services, and Yale University.

She received her undergraduate degree in General Studies with a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Idaho and is currently pursuing nursing prerequisites at Johns Hopkins University, with the hopes of one day becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner. Additionally, she continues to provide a variety of continuing education and community health workshops and has written for the peer-reviewed Journal of Visualized Experiments. Please feel free to connect with Tiffany on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

Dennis Hargis

Dennis currently works as a Research Site Coordinator, Mental Health, at the Orlando (FL) VA Medical Center.  He has served in this role for one year; prior to assuming this role he served as Nurse Manager of Surgical Services, PAT, and Pain Clinic for 4 years.  He hargis_dennis_200currently serves on the medical center’s Ethics Committee and is a member of the Transgender Care Team.  Dennis retired from the USAF in 2003 after 21 years of military service.  He holds a M.S. in Nursing Administration, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY; and a B.S. and A.D. in Nursing, Marymount University, Arlington, VA. He is currently enrolled in the DNP program at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN with a targeted completion date of July 2016.  His scholarly project interest centers on increasing LGBT cultural awareness among Veterans’ Health Administration (VHA) staff members.  His plans are to enroll in a Ph.D. program to pursue continued studies with regard to LGBT Veterans.  He is a member of the GLMA, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, and the American Nurses Association.  Please feel free to connect with Dennis on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

GLMA Nursing Email List Survey now open!

As we start a new year, the GLMA Nursing Section Leadership team is off to a great start – we are already planning the Fourth GLMA Nursing Summit to be held in St. Louis on September 14th! We hope to see many of you there! Right now, there is one simple, fast and important way you can help as we begin planning for the Summit, and as we refine our goals for the Section — fill out our brief GLMA Nursing Email List Survey! We promise it is brief and easy to complete!

Fill out the form below, or  click here to complete the survey in Google Forms

Call for Abstracts – Lesbian Health Fund

The Lesbian Health Fund (LHF), a program of GLMA, is currently accepting proposals for research on lesbian health. The deadline to submit is February 1, 2016.

About LHF

Founded in 1992, the LHF has awarded more than $840,000 to fund lesbian health research, and is the only US research fund dedicated solely to the unique health needs of lesbians, other sexual minority women (SMW) and their families.

Today, LHF remains committed to improving the health of lesbians and other sexual minority women over the lifespan, from early childhood, through adolescence, and adulthood, including aging. There is still great need to understand how social determinants, especially race and ethnicity, influence the health and wellbeing of lesbians, other SMW and their families.

Priority Research Areas:

  • Understanding social, family and interpersonal influences as sources of stress or support
  • Eliminating inequalities in health care, including barriers to care, and improving quality of care and utilization rates
  • Development and testing of interventions to address mental and physical health needs of lesbians and other SMW, including but not limited to depression, identity related issues, eating disorders, substance abuse, obesity, cancer risks, cardiovascular disease and sexually transmitted infections
  • Sexual and reproductive health, including family & parenting issues

Many applications are for small projects ($500 – $10,000) structured to provide pilot data for subsequent research. Publication in a peer-reviewed journal is expected, and priority is given to the best proposals with the greatest likelihood of securing future funding from other sources.

Proposals for the next grant cycle are due on February 1, 2016. Click here for information on how to apply. Click here for a list of previously funded grants.

Please forward this announcement to anyone who might be interested. GLMA Board Members and LHF Advisory Committee Members or paid consultants are ineligible to submit grants. Please contact Shalini Batra at lhf@glma.org, or 202-600-8037202-600-8037, ext. 308 with any questions.

Leadership Team Report

You might be wondering what is happening with the GLMA Nursing Section these days, or you might not have given this a thought!  After all, it is easy to relegate the GLMA Nursing Section to a once-a-year event that many have come to eagerly anticipate, and that provides a rich experience of inspiration and rejuvenation.  But the GLMA Nursing Section was formed to be much more than something that only happens once a year … it was formed to provide all LGBTQ nurses and our allies a “home” – a year-round “space” to be free of the persistent stigma that many of live with day in and day out, a means of connection with colleagues and friends and re-energize our commitment to the work we do, a network from which to generate ideas and actions to improve LGBTQ health.

So this year’s leadership team is committed to a year-round focus on making the Section an important and vital force for nursing and healthcare.  For starters, we are meeting every month using the Zoom.us video-meeting platform.  Our first two meetings were held on October 1 and on November 5, 2015.  We have set the following goals for the coming year:

  1. Plan for the 2016 summit
  2. Develop a finance plan, including exploration of additional funding, for the summit in cooperation with GLMA staff
  3. Develop an accurate roster and budget
  4. Meet all of the deadlines for GLMA board reports
  5. Increase the engagement of the workgroup leaders
  6. Develop a team of folks to manage the website and blog
  7. Broaden the visibility of GLMA nursing
  8. Develop a transparent and effective voting process.

As you can see, some of these goals are  pretty mundane – just taking care of business!  But others are focused on opening doors of opportunity for becoming involved – particularly # 5, 6, and 7 on this list!  We know that everyone is totally overwhelmed with many pressing responsibilities and demands on time and energy.  But we also know that for too long, LGBTQ health, and LGBTQ nursing concerns have been neglected.  So go back up to the list — and take a close look at # 5, 6 and 7!  If you can become involved in any way to help us meet these goals, please let us know!

Our monthly meetings are on the first Thursday of the month, so our December meeting will be on the 3rd!  You are welcome to join us!  If you want to do so, use the contact form on this site to let us know and we will send you more details!

 

The GLMA Nursing Workplace Climate Scale – Available now!

The GLMA Nursing Section has now unveiled our “Workplace Climate Scale” – a tool that can be used to improve the working environment for nurses in any setting!  It can also be used as a teaching and learning tool to raise awareness of ways to reduce workplace WCS logohomophobia and microagressions that affect LGBTQ individuals and families.

You can find out more from the information on our website! Discover a number of ways that YOU can use this simple yet comprehensive tool, regardless of where you work!  We developed the tool as a way to address homophobia in the workplace that has damaged so many lives for too many years.  But our approach is a positive one … it outlines the actions and conditions that can be create to not only overcome homophobia, and create a truly welcoming environment that values all sexual and gender minority nurses!

Here are the specific sections that you will find on the website:

Teaching with the Workplace Climate Scale – here you will find a slideshow that you can use in any setting to introduce people to the elements on the Scale, and to prompt discussion of how to create these conditions in any workplace.

Workplace Climate Scale for Self- Assessment – here you will find a downloadable PDF file that lists all 1o of the items on the scale, with a column for you to use for self-assessment in any setting.

Recognition for earning a “Perfect 10” on the Workplace Climate Scale – so you want to actually use the scale to score your workplace, AND you find that you have a “perfect 10!”  Use the electronic form on this page to let us know, and we will post your achievement on our website!

Most of all, we would love to hear from you!  We are still in the process of posting resources to help people who want to use this important resource to take action where you work!  Fill out the contact form here, and give us your suggestions!  We will do everything we can to support what you want to accomplish!

New Ruling — Collection of LGBT Data in EHR Systems!

If you have not heard yet, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a ruling that is a huge advancement in the provision of health care to LGBT people. In the new final rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology (ONC), all electronic health systems (EHR) certified under Stage 3 of Meaningful Use are required to allow users to record, change, and access data on sexual orientation and gender identity!

If you are not familiar with Meaningful Use, here is a website that gives a quick overview of the objectives and different stages. In essence, Meaningful Use is using EHR technology to improve quality and safety, engage patients, and improve care coordination. Providers and hospitals need to meet certain criteria to attain Meaningful Use, qualifying them for payment incentives.

Although this latest ruling does NOT require providers and hospitals to collect sexual orientation and gender identity data, it does require EHR vendors to build these questions in their systems. Moreover, the ruling adopts replacing outdated and offensive terminology and replacing them with best practice questions.

It is a victory in the advancement of understanding LGBT health disparities!

The Fenway Institute published a press release on this announcement and is worth the read!

Nursing Summit 2015 – a Great Success!

Our 2015 Nursing Summit was a great success – many thanks to the leadership of Caitlin Stover, who worked tirelessly throughout the months ahead to make sure this happened! Her planning team included Michele McKelvey, Kelli Dunham, Madelyne Greene, Pamela Lin, Eileen Glover, Rob Carroll, Jose Pares-Avila, Sarah Sanders, Mary Foley, Emily Kane-Lee, Pamela Levesque, Amy Wilson-Stronks and Alison McManus.  The 2014-15 leadership team lent support along the way, as well as members of the GLMA staff who orchestrated the GLMA Conference.  Portland, Oregon was a beautiful, interesting and very welcoming city – everywhere we went we heard comments of delight that we were together, sharing interesting ideas, supporting one another, and learning on many levels.

We will be posting many more details of the outcomes of the Summit during the next several weeks, but for now I want to be sure everyone knows our new leadership team for 2015-2016.  Below is a photograph of the newly elected team that was taken by our 6 member – Mary Foley, our Past Chair who will be on our leadership team for the coming year as well!  I have included Mary’s photo from last year!  Shown seated, Peggy Chinn (Recorder) and Michael Johnson (Chair).  Standing L to R: Caitlin Stover (Chair-Elect), Ralph Klotzbaugh (Budget Officer), Natalie Paul (Student Representative from Vanderbilt University).

2015-Leadership

And with great appreciation for her contributions in launching our Nursing Section: MaryMary-Foley Foley, Past-Chair!

Just Published! “Defusing Bigotry at the Bedside” by Fidelindo Lim and Daniel Brian Borski

Our GLMA Nursing Colleague, Fidel Lim, just shared news of this, his latest article co-authored by one of his students (now graduated)!  This year Fidel will not be able to join us for the nursing summit, but he remains actively involved in the Education workgroup.  This article discusses the very difficult situation of patient verbal homophobic or racist assaults toward nurses, creating a real challenge for the nurse who is morally obligated to continue to provide the best quality of care.

As they note, even though society in general is shifting in the direction of greater acceptance of diversity, prejudice and incivility still exist, and having good support systems in place for nurses to deal constructively with the situation is an essential part of a positive workplace environment.  In addition, collective action by organized nursing groups lends strength to all efforts to overcome prejudice and stigma.  As they state:

“Policy statements supporting LGBT health equality and broader social concerns have been issued by the American Medical Association and the National Association of Social Workers; however, no similar position statements have been issued by the American Nurses Association (ANA). Although the ANA hasn’t issued an LGBT-specific position statement, its website provides a list of resources related to LGBT individuals and communities. . .  The American Academy of Nursing has issued a statement supporting healthcare for sexual minority and gender-diverse populations but made no reference to supporting LGBT nurses.” (page 42-43)

This is precisely at the center of the work we are doing in the GLMA Nursing Section!  At the Summit this coming week we are unveiling our “Workplace Climate Scale,” which is already available on our web site!  And, we have added an “Action Center” to our web site that will continue to document actions that other nursing groups take on behalf of LGBTQ rights! The Action Center already lists several policy statements by the American Academy of Nursing, the organization that has taken the lead in standing on the side of social justice in nursing!

So whether or not you can join us in Portland, Oregon – check out the web site, and return frequently – this is an ever-growing resource!  We will also be putting out a call for GLMA Nurses to be on the website team – so if you want to be involved in actually “doing” the work of the website, let me know!

Thank you for your fine article, Fidel!

Lim, F. A., & Borski, D. B. (2015). Defusing bigotry at the bedside. Nursing, 45(10), 40–44. http://doi.org/10.1097/01.NURSE.0000469238.51105.20 

Nursing Summit 2015 is Right Around the Corner!

At 11 am on Thursday next week (September 24th), the opening bell will ring for our GLMA Nursing Summit 2015!  We will not have as much time as we have had in the past, but the time we do have will be a dynamite, fun and inspiring time together.  I know that NAHLE_logo transparentthere are still many nurses “out there” who do not yet even know we exist (I met 3 of them on a google hangout 2 days ago) – so it is imperative that every time you hear or read something about GLMA Nursing, share it as widely as you can – I have listed a few hints below about how to do this!

Our lack of visibility in nursing is not a surprise, or course. Like the lingering effects of “don’t ask, don’t tell” our invisibility in nursing continues to be perpetrated by the many damaging effects of stigma that still exist within nursing, and in fact throughout society.  And to make matters worse, until now we have not had an LGBTQ “home” for nurses – our connections with one another have been largely informal friendships, sometimes nurtured across geographic landscapes by our informal connections in other organizations where we make it point to find other LGBTQ nurses who are our friends and acquaintances.  Now, because of the GLMA Nursing Section, we are blazing a new trail, learning as we go how to turn our nursing gaze on the challenges of LGBTQ health in the context of a formal organization.

I hope you are able to be present on the 24th!  But if you cannot, and even if you can, here are some important things YOU can do to support this fledgling organization:

  • Join!  Your membership in GLMA, and the GLMA Nursing Section, is a vital way to help ensure our success over the long haul.
  • Follow this blog!  Go to any page on the web site and click the link at the top of the right sidebar to follow! (You can do this even if you have not yet joined!)
  • Sign up for the GLMA nursing email list!  The list is open to all, member or not, nurse or not – anyone who is interested in nursing action on behalf of LGBTQ health.
  • “Like” our GLMA Nursing Facebook Page, and add news and information about nursing and LGBTQ health any time!
  • Check #GLMAnursing on Twitter to learn real-time “happenings!”  This will be especially interesting during the Nursing Summit and the GLMA conference!  If you are there, please tweet regularly and use #GLMANursing to let the world know what is happening!