I went out to karaoke with my sister last night and ….after some very bad performances on our part… the conversation turned to a subject that struck me in the heart.
A dear friend of mine who works in a pharmacy was asking about a client of hers who is trans-gender. She wanted to know how to ask the client about where she got her shoes without offending her. We cleared the issue by instructing her to just be genuinely respectful. This is where the conversation turned to more important things.
My sister is a lesbian and a member of an internationally renowned GLBT choir. ( I am very proud of how talented she is.) We began discussing the specific needs of the GLTB community regarding healthcare. She mentioned to me that just the other day she was filling out a new patient form and there was "married" and "single" options but not "partner". It is hard for a physician to have a clear picture of the healthcare needs of a trans-gender or gay/lesbian/bisexual patient, for example, if that physician is not willing to learn about the things that effect their daily lives.
That conversation reminded me of another conversation that I had years ago in medical school with my dear friend and lab partner. I had just finished practicing blood draws with her when out of the blue she said " you’re going to be a good doctor ". When I gave her my are-you-drunk look she explained…in her experience a lot of doctors were afraid of black patients. They also had trouble finding veins to do blood draws because they were used to taking blood from white transparent skin. Essentially she was ordering me to be grateful for having a black lab partner because I was going to be able to handle any patient that walked through the door. And I am grateful for her for more reasons than that.
The bottom line is that no person and certainly no doctor has the right to decide what clothes you should wear, who you should love, or what color your skin should be… EVERYONE deserves to be treated as an individual with specific needs.
We can provide holistic medical care geared towards your specific needs. Alternative medicine is not about lumping people into categories, but about looking at individuals as unique beings who need specialized care.
-Dr Michele Raithel NMD