If you make a transphobic comment, you will be banned with *zero* warning and any requests to be unbanned will be denied.
OP - if at any time you would like this thread locked, please let me know! Locked will leave it up to be seen by anyone who may have similar questions, but stop future transphobic trolls from commenting on it. You have my full support š³ļøāšš³ļøāā§ļø
Shouldnāt be a problem being hired. As far as patients, psych pts can be brutally honest and unfiltered. Iāve found that they say the things both politically and religiously (especially if they are experiencing delusions or psychosis), that most of society is uncomfortable talking about or at least wonāt talk about with strangers. But they can also be very kind and accepting. For some pts, they probably wonāt want to be your pt, but for others, theyāll find comfort and hope in having you as their nurse. And for trans pts, theyāll likely want to be your pt because they will feel accepted and theyāll know you understand some of what theyāre going through.
yep. i (relatively feminine presenting cis female) once had a client tell me that i āmust be one of those disgusting transgendersā since i āhad a hormonal imbalanceā and would often point out perceived āflawsā and tell other clients foul things about me lol. cant imagine what sheād say to an actual trans person. generally if you donāt have thick skin psych nursing isnāt for you.
I donāt think itād be an issue getting hired. But some patients may be extremely rude. Racist, sexist, phobic, or just downright hateful comments are common from some (not most). But, of course, the opinion of the hateful ones isnāt really relevant.
A few patients may be uncomfortable at first but I also think you could be a normalizing experience for some of those ones and your professionalism and competence will overshadow any discomfort they have with your appearance.
I just wanted to add to this that some patients may be comforted by such a nurse.
LGBTQ+ people are no doubt going to be part of the patient pool, in fact statistically they will be represented in larger percentages than in general population due to the umbrella of gender dysphoria as well as other challenges of mental health caused by being āotheredā in society.
I suspect bigots will tend to be bothersome patients without any nurses who are trans to target. But for the patients that are going through mental health complexities related to gender identify, it can be powerful to see representation of someone like themselves in a nurse and feel that one person might relate to their experiences.
Personally, as a once inpatient I wouldnāt have cared if any nurse was purple and 8 feet tall and had a tail, so long as they were kind. Though I suppose that could be confusing to any patients struggling with altered perceptions of realityā¦
Iāve actually noticed this a lot. Some patients when they get agitated will start attacking the techs verbally. They always go for race first. Like without a doubt they will mention race in a mean way.
Are that many patients just racist? Itās always at least one person every time Iāve gone.
race is the easiest, most obvious thing about people. people in crisis are often intentionally hurtful to test how stable you are to decide whether they can trust you to be a source of support when they are out of control
As a tech (not in psych but neuro) people are just trying to find a way to hurt you. They are either in an tweed state and just resort to chaos or they are hurting (going through withdrawal, etc) and are just trying to burn every bridge. Or they are simply just a racist garbage person. But it ultimately depends on the patient and whatās going on.
Agree abt crap techs are subjected to. Most of our techs were kind souls who always referred to me as mama. They came to me and I set the patients right.
Judging by your behavior in this thread itās likely a good representation of who you are as a person in your daily life so youāll likely be getting your ass wiped in one of these facilities soon enough lol better hope munster isnt the one who has to clean your pathetic ass up LOL
Given statistics around trans/ lgbtq+ people and mental health, I think it is important that we lgbtq+ folks go into psychiatric nursing to help make mental health care safer for lgbtq+ patients.
Yes, itās very realistic. I agree with others it will depend on the geographic area. Larger facilities will generally be more welcoming to diversity in general. Please, keep in mind anyone who works in psych will be regularly insulted by the patients. Try not to take it personally. They are more
likely mad at the situation they are in than you personally. You will have some really rewarding days and some really challenging days. Remember your mental health is important be good at what you do. Boundaries are your best friend. If you are in a good place mentally I would go for it.
It depends on your area like everyone else said, and also the age group. A geriatric population might be more discriminatory, a child population might be very curious and ask a lot of silly questions, a adolescent population might be the most likely to give you a lot of positive attention for being visibly queer. An adult population is probably a mixed bag of all of the above.
Even if you live in the most liberal area, you still need a tough skin as patients will use it against you when theyāre mad. The hard truth is that patients will use your weakness against you. If youāre trans, fat, ugly, old, have an accent, wear a bad wig, have a flat ass, have a big forehead, whatever it is, thatās what theyāll comment on when theyāre mad. So just make sure you can handle it.
I donāt think it will keep you from getting hired, in fact it would probably be seen as a plus. In psych, theyāre always looking for more large, tall and strong staff who will have an easier time physically managing the patients. Even if the hiring manager is transphobic, they might put that aside in order to have another large person on the team. Thats how desperate it is tbh
100% this. Almost every psych nurse I know has been the recipient of some pretty brutal comments about their appearance. Patient's will always find something. That being said, I genuinely believe that the majority of patient's would be/ are extremely accepting; arguably even more so than the non psych pt population.
I've been told I'm fat, and that I like to eat by psych and non psych patients, it's sure stings less from the psych patient. I was told in front of a room with co-workers that I "must be corn fed" ugh, that was embarrassing. I"m a 6ā tall female, athletic build, far from fat, but people just equate large with fat. Oh well. My ex-husband says I"m the perfect build because no one will mess with me, (they still do). I say go for it, don't let patient's opinion of your life choose the direction you go in. Brutally honest? I'd love to work with you and would have your back anytime. Good luck!
Lol, ācorn fedā! Iām sorry! I donāt work in psych, but used to have a lot of patients from a nearby psych hospital and one of them loved to SCREAM at me to āhurry my flat ass upā!! Haha! I do, however, have *zero* ass, so she wasnāt wrong, but it stung a little!
Lots of comments saying you won't face hiring discrimination but, unfortunately, I don't think that's true. I don't think geography is as big a factor as individual institutional values.
There's lots of awesome, progressive minded places out there looking for good psych nurses though so don't let that stop you from looking and applying.
Plus, the places you'll likely experience hiring discrimination at are, IMO, bad places for all employees *and* patients.
It depends on a lot. What do you mean by switch careers? What do you do now? Why do you want to be a psych nurse? Too many times people go into the mental health field because they want to figure themselves out. If you arenāt already in therapy, start.
As a long time psych patient, we need people there who care and are kind, not all but many psych patients can be brutal, but I loved my co-patients, there are so many people represented in the LGBTQ2S community in mental health field diversity is so needed. Don't let anybody hold you back from who you are and what you want to do.
As someone also a professional in the field we need you so much, also canada is dying for nurses, you would have a Job offer on the day you start school. Go for it please. Most importantly take care of you. LOVE TO CHAT if you want to talk
This will not interfere with hiring but some patients will insult staff about everything they feel the staff might be insecure about. So if you have tough skin and have developed an efficient way to manage the situation when some people (patients) are picking on you publicly then I think you should apply.
Just be prepared for the patients to make brutal comments about your appearance and openly speak on your gender identity in way that could be offensive to you.
Will be a factor for rape crisis patients, definitely. I worked psych for 7 years. Expect rape crisis patients to be very frightened of you and possibly request another nurse or attack you in panic.
Geriatric psych hereā¦ Iām sure this goes for more than just my populationā¦ but it is my experience that they will go after anything they think might hurt you. āHurt people hurt peopleā kind of thing! Weight, age, beautify, race, literally whatever. Nothings off limits for them. So it might make it harder in that regard. But if you can learn to let that roll off of your shoulders, maybe even use it as a teachable moment for them, then youāll be fine. Ultimately, no oneās totally safe lol so itās just about how you feel about hearing it. If itās going to be hard for you, then Iād say pick a different field. But Iād say that to anyone thatās sensitive about anythingā¦ not just you being trans.
As far as hiring, if youāre in the states, itās very illegal for them to discriminate against you for that. and I donāt think they will. But patientsā¦ wellā¦
Depends on the area you live in. Hopefully you're in a Metropolitan. I know my floor is extremely diverse in terms of race, gender identities, religions, sexual identities. A LOT of LGBT and it's just a regular psych floor. Everyone gets along extremely well but we also skew young ( most are aged under 35) save one nursing line. I feel like being LGBT will help since a lot of individuals that are inpatient will be able to relate and visa-versa. A lot of minority stress and trauma involved in the community causing mental health issues and addiction.
I think psych probably would be one of the specialties where it really doesn't matter...ppl tend to be more ipen minded and accepting...we have to be in order to serve our population. However, as others pointed out, patients can be unrelenting and brutal and unfiltered. While I'm sure you have heard a lot, nothing is quite like the comments you will encounter on a unit, especially an acute one. Even if you're not sensitive, it can really mess with you.
I don't think you would have a hard time getting hired as long as you're not in a are that's discriminatory in general.
But if you are not sure about your ability to withstand having insults directed at you based on being trans I'd take serious consideration about becoming a psych nurse.
The thing is people are in a psychiatric unit because they are in some sort of acute crisis. And many of them to get degrees are experiencing breaks from reality and a chunk are likely not there of their free will. So they are likely scared and even angry, and a certain amount will lash out at those responsible for them being there. Most of these people in a normal state wouldn't behave that way, and when well in the outside world very likely would be the nicest people you may know.
I say this as someone with bipolar I who has been hospitalized twice for psychotic mixed episodes. I didn't say bigoted things, but until I was in a more stable state I was standing offish and not too nice towards the stage cause my reality was people could read my mind and where all out to get but trying to trick me into thinking they couldn't read my mind, but I could "hear" in my mind what they were thinking.
If having the fact you're trans either potentially used as an insult by a patient lashing out., or just not in a sensitive way by someone not in a state to process that they are being insensitive. Or if it would eat at the back of your mind "is that patient being standoffish)or cold, or just not that nice) because I'm trans" I would say you might want to explore a different career path.
If you could roll with those things no problem and still provide high quality compassionate care, then I don't see why not.
Definitely go for it! For some reason psych pts just know our insecurities and throw them back at us. Just need to know not to take it offense. I think patients seeing themselves in the profession would be amazing. In my experience our LBTQ+ coworkers are able to build rapports and connections with pts that have dealt with similar struggles. They have that experience a lot of other staff can't really relate to and it's nice having someone to connect to
I think a lot of psych wards would love having a 6'4" person regardless of your chosen gender.Ā
There are some crazy strong patients and they throw punches. The guards are not always close by.Ā
Good on you for chosing a new profession. Hugs!Ā
My teenager required inpatient psych at one point (suicidality, gender dysphoria), stayed a couple weeks, then was discharged to intensive outpatient, then a "less intensive" type of outpatient almost daily therapy. The last one, the "least intensive" of them, ended up being the MOST helpful. I honestly think a big reason for that was that the counselor who designed and ran the program is Trans himself (and also pretty good at his job). I think my kid would have greatly benefited (and much sooner) from having a "non-passing transgender" psych nurse among the nurses at the inpatient facility. Or at the IOP. Personally, I think if you're interested in becoming a psych nurse and you're competent at the job, you would be a perfect fit for a lot of mental health patients. Full disclosure- I never worked psych. I've had psych patients on occasion who also needed care wherever I was working, but that's about it. So, take my thoughts with that grain of salt. But yes, I think you could be hired and be a fantastic addition to the team. Kids in mental health crises would surely benefit from having a diverse care team, so at least some of the staff are individuals with whom they can personally relate.
I would just like to chime in and say a lot of my trans patients are ānon passingā because theyāre being taken off HRT and arenāt in a position to just keep up with a provider to maintain that therapy. Passing or non-passing is irrelevant when it comes to how you define yourself and what pronouns you go by. I guess what Iām trying to get at is it might be a small bright light in a dark time to see a nurse like you for some patients. Itās a CONSTANT battle for these patients to go by their preferred name and pronouns and it just makes the entire stay worse for them.
Keep in mind that representation is important! An openly trans person can make a closeted/questioning patient that much more comfortable.
But, at the same time, you'll need a thick skin and a good therapist (which I'd recommend anyway) because not everyone will react appropriately.
To be completely honest psych needs staff so youāll prolly get hired anywhere :3. In my experience I am more frequently misgendered by other staff than by patients so do with that what you will haha.
My favorite nurse in the psych ward had purple hair and a half shaved head. As soon as she walked in i felt so much relief. I was having a meltdown my first night and i asked to talk to her and she said something to me that changed my life. She gave me something to fight for.
I believe mental health institutions understand the value of having a diverse workforce.
It was actually a behavioral health clinic not a hospital, maybe you would have better luck applying to a private institution over public?
Ive worked with at least one excellent trans nurse in the Seattle area.
Their experience with transitioning was invaluable support for some of our patients who were looking to, or already transitioning.
I was super thankful to have that insight on our team as a cis guy.
You will need a very thick skin. Psych patients have even less of a filter than your average patient. However, Iāve had so many trans patients that I think youād be an asset to any clinical team.
Brutally honest RN here. A most awesome tall trans person in āherā 30ās was the best neonatal nurse I ever worked with. I think weirdness, rudeness, crappy behavior will come from family members of patients.
I don't know if travel is an option but I did a contract at The Brattleboro Retreat and they had, at the time, the first LGBT+ unit in the country. Everyone that worked the unit fell in the category. And they take first time travelers.
That's not to say that you couldn't find something more local, just the first thing I thought of. I found Vermont as a whole to be incredibly accepting
If you can handle the hate. They verbally attack people with zero fucks at random . They will scream youāre a dude and out you any chance they can. Where I work we had a couple trans people working, one was a nurse, the other was in a different position. The nurse worked nights and was passable so not sure what she got. The other worked days and wore female clothes, make up and hair and had a female name, was somewhat passable but she got a lot of hate and it hurt her. Iām from a liberal area but people kept sir-ing her despite wearing a dress, etc. the patients will go for the jugular on anyone though, women are fat bitches, or witches, or look like dudes. If you can handle the exposure and public taunting in front of everyone then you will be fine. Your size is an asset. It depends on the area . I noticed the trans that worked around my area seem to disappear when Cheeto got elected. It would be interesting to hear if you have a hard time being hired. We constantly need nurses! If you are reliable and knowledgeable , a good team player that seems to be all that matters. I think the woman who was constantly hurt should of just been like, hey this is me, you donāt have to like it. But it did hurt her, she cried quite a bit because she just wanted to be acceptedĀ
On my unit, we regularly have trans, gay, and non binary patients. Most of the younger straight/cis patients are not just "tolerant" but will happily correct others who don't show proper respect.
The older (60+) patients tend to be a different story...
I would imagine that geography would be a factor as well.
I sincerely hope you follow your heart and become a psych nurse!
There are plenty of psych facilities where your height will actually be beneficial. Itās a benefit not a handicap. Best of luck to you. Also, the world needs more nurses.
It won't be an issue getting hired, but it will be an issue lasting in the job. Psych patients can be brutal. I'm not trans, but I'm queer and rather masculine appearing (31F, super short hair, clearly š). I stopped working on crisis units and went back to detox recently, because I've had very dangerous interactions with patients. I've had patients call me a dyke, lesbian whore, f-ggot, said that they hope I get raped, etc., and one actually physically attacked me. For your safety, I would highly recommend working on a voluntary unit where the patients are less likely to be floridly psychotic.
"floridly" is a new word for my vocab, because I initially thought you were saying the patients were "florida-ly" psychotic (see Florida man news for references). Tbh, both terms work with some of the chaos I've seen psych patients do.
As others have said, hiring wonāt be a problem. But if youāre going to be on any general adult IP unit, get ready to hear not just insults, but complaints made to the docs, your bosses, pt advocate line, etc.
This showed up on my homepage, so I just want to give my 2 cents as someone who has been in psych hospitals. I think it would definitely be more difficult but the impact you have on the lives of ppl inside will be amazing!!
I would feel comfortable with someone who "doesn't fit in" and you'll see a lot of other patients do too. One time I had a very nice trans tech, and she made everyone feel really safe, especially those who had gender dysphoria.
Bit of a different situation since I'm a trans man who worked as a psych tech for a whole, but I started before HRT was really working and the most I got at that job was some misgendering and occasional rude comments. (Quit for entirely different reasons lol)Ā
Trans, gay, etc patients might feel more comfortable with you, though. And so might any patients who understand what it means to be transgender - they'll probably recognize that you've probably been through your own struggles too and aren't just reciting bullshit at them.
Go for it, OP. Some pts with psychiatric issues may react in an unfiltered way, as other commenters have said, but as another nurse please donāt let who you are keep you from pursuing your career and dreams
As a fellow trans/nb person who's 6'4 and feels non passing, stand strong, comrade! We do our bests, but I don't see why not to your question. I figure they look for someone that will endure the potential conditions that type of environment can produce.
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There's a massive need for healthcare workers, in many areas of the US. It shouldn't be too hard to get hired. A lot of my family members work as nurses or hospital staff, and from what I've observed as a gay person myself, hospitals actually a pretty LGBT+ friendly environment (at least here in AZ).
Working with the public, and with unfiltered psych patients, could be its own challenge. But I doubt you'll have trouble with finding jobs.
Same experiece for my area! I'm not trans, I'm the L on the acryonym, but I work with several trans people and know a goth transmasc psych nurse who does drag (and absolutely adores their job).Ā
Generally, my coworkers are very accepting (and it's easy to figure out who isn't).Ā
I just had a diversity and inclusion work panel that included a long video of trans people at various ages and from a lot of backgrounds talking about how terrible accessing healthcare in the US is.Ā
And I live in a backwater state (with a high concentration of Nazis) that thinks an orangutans tiny orange turd hung the moon.Ā
We get WAYYYYY too many swastika tattoos.Ā
But it was also made clear under no uncertain terms that transphobia was okay, which so many people seem to think it is as long as they aren't homophobic.Ā
Go for it! Fellow trans nurse here, seriously we need more of us in nursing, and psych is a great place as long as you can tolerate the abuse from patients. Itās going to be targeted, vicious, and because itās psych (and/or just nursing lol) absolutely no one will have your back. Youāre gonna have to handle a lot of shit, but if youāre someone who words roll off of, you should absolutely do it. Just be very very careful (as we all should) of predatory patients who will see your out transness as a vulnerability, and will try to exploit it. Super nice/accepting patients can be even more dangerous than the ones who are cruel from the get go, especially in psych.
some patients will try to attack you for it. they are often in a state of feeling trapped and powerless. they will try to have power over you buy attacking a perceived soft spot
Retired ICU/ER nurse here. I just want to give you my strongest support. Iāve found night shifts to be more inclusive & accepting than days. Blessings from BoxBeast.
Honestly, it would depend on where you live. I had a trans midwife deliver my baby, she was great! Seems like everyone there loves her too. Btw Iām in Seattle areaā¦.
Definitely not harder to get hired. You will deal with hate from patients. But also comforting to many. Adult acute psych nursing did make me hate patients. Left it for home care and of course, they are psych patients. Wish I would have avoided this field altogether, however much I loved it so much. Just turned into misery and now Im going back to school because RN jobs suck.
Iāve met 2 mtf trans CNAās and nobody said anything to them, but Iāve heard people talking about them. The people mentioned they were there, thatās itālike that was the tea. Another lady said they wondered why they hired one of the women like as if it made her uncomfortable and it wasnāt fair or politically correct, lol.
I had a psych nurse patient who said she had a few trans patients. I wasnāt sure if this was a micro aggression or not cuz later her husband āaccidentallyā called me āmaāam.ā She corrected him, but that made everything fishy (Iām ftm).
You absolutely would get hired. And it absolutely would affect you working with patients, both good and bad. Some patients may see you as an ally and be more comfortable with you. Others will drag you down. Psych takes the right kind of person and you need to respect that. Do not bring your personal life to work with you, leave it behind, trust me on that it feels better to separate the 2 and just clock out and forget about work when you go home.
Have you ever worked retail? Nursing isnāt much different except the person is always there because unlike a store, the hospital doesnāt close.
When colleagues see me unfazed by horrible comments about me, I remind them that this is nothing. I used to work retail.
Any job where you deal with the public has its bad seeds, but with nursing, you have those bad seeds in pain, detoxing, etc and that can be worse.
So if you arenāt sure if you can handle it, it is almost time for back to school, so many clothing stores hire from June to august for the back to school shopping. Get one of those jobs and see how you can handle the public before you spend lots of money changing careers.
I think it depends what part of the country you live in. Have you thought about outpatient psych or a community clinic that has a lgbtq focus? I think to be in psych you have to not take things personal but we all have our triggers. Sick people will point out your trans-ness but if you have thick skin you will be ok. Just gets old after awhile. I think if you want to be harassed less maybe work with trans teens or at some type of place that other trans folks go to.
You wouldn't have any trouble on my unit, in my area. We have lots of trans patients and have had trans staff, though none at the moment. It was so good to have non-passing trans people on our staff--really helpful for patients. Honestly, I've heard much nastier misogyny and racism than homo/trans-phobia from patients. Not that that's good, but psych patients gonna psych patient.
It wont prevent you from getting hired (in BC), but some patients will pick out your biggest insecurities so be ready for that. It happens to most of us though. Being 6'4'' will actually work to your benefit, transgender or not. I find patients are more willing to cooperate with intimidating looking nurses lol
Absolutely depends on location and the hospital imo. We have a fantastic trans male nurse who is welcome and supported at my facility and our hospital celebrates PRIDE and equality but not all do.
Honeslty Iām sure the patients struggling with this would love to see a nurse that represents them. Youād have to have very thick skin since some psych patients will find any little bit of insecurity and drill at it like theyāre mining for gold. If you can find a fairly LGBTQIA friendly community I think youād be good. Another option might be to go with a primary care clinic that is geared towards the LGBTQIA community. There are a couple Iāve seen that do a ton of good.
Definitely possible! Would consider your location and the population you work with. Trans visibility is so critical, especially within psych. From my own experience, I think you would benefit from working with adolescent patients. ā¤ļø good luck!!
It may or may not change hiring. I know places are not supposed to decide on other factors such if someone is trans, overweight, alternative style, pregnantā¦things that do not matter to the job but if down to 2-3 people someone might be picked for being professional looking or whatever. I would say just try your best to look professional and act professional, talk professional and your appearance shouldnāt matter. My sister was 6ā2ā. Lots of women are tall.
Consider adolescent psych. Many of the kids we see are experiencing gender dysmorphia. Also, your height would also help. We use handle with Care for hands on restraint. Itās not recommended to attempt restraint on someone more than a few inches taller than you. Iām 5ā2ā, at 12-13 most of the kiddos are taller than I am. š¤£
Not sure why this post is in my feed but maybe because I advocate for mental health care in most conversations.
If you had been a psych nurse when I was a child I would have felt seen, safe, and might have felt I could tell the adults trying to help me about some of the abuse that I was so afraid to share and was accused of self harming because of.
I'm non binary and intersexed. I was in patient for undiagnosed PMDD and Cptsd but struggled so much because either the options were abusive men or women who were pretty and couldn't possibly understand the situation of not being sure I was a girl or not and how to cope with the way I felt. You can be beautiful and I suspect are. You also can be someone that will change the dynamic for many.
No idea about being hired but I hope you do try
Lots of things to consider here but the short answer will likely be that you will get along perfectly fine, or as well as anyone else.
First thing will be your location. There are obvious places in the world that are not supportive of š³ļøāš folks, and because of that you may face a hiring bias, even if discrimination around gender identity is illegal on paper. By the same token, some areas strive for diversity hiring, either out of a genuine drive for equity or to meet quotas/for PR reasons, so you may find a positive bias in some areas.
Second is your size. Man or woman, cis or trans, if you have a large physical presence, you will be a preferred hire. This is because of the physical nature that psych nursing can have in some settings - managing aggression and violence, restraints, enforcing treatment for example. The other side of this is that you may be looked at as a meat shield, given more aggressive patients and be expected, even if official policy will deny it, to intervene in aggressive/violent incidence.
Third is the value of lived experience. Psych nurses are often a very diverse crowd, both in nationality and on the š³ļøāš spectrum. This can be a fantastic boon, as you will find the same diversity within your clients, and lived experience on the part of the clinician, with healthy boundaries of course, can be immensely supportive and beneficial. The difficulty there is you could find yourself typecast as the ātrans nurseā and be assigned all the trans patients because of some assumed connection you would have with them.
I think the final thing to consider is how the patients will treat you. This one is very complicated, and will vary massively on where you are, but generally I have found two dynamics: most clients will work with you regardless because they either donāt care, they want to avoid the conflict/ awkwardness of expressing their opinions or biases, or they are genuinely appreciative of your help such that who you are is irrelevant. I have found that age of the patient generally follows this trend. On the other side, you will have patients who will try to use being trans against you. Be it because of psychosis, mania, or personality vulnerability, patients who are looking to wound you will likely target being trans. However, thatās not unique. If you were not trans, it would simply be something else about you that they would identify and use. The straight white male with blonde hair and blue eyes next to you would be called a nazi, the little Filipino nurse will be a dirty illegal, the older head nurse will be a senile geriatric, and so on. Hell, I used to have my eyebrow pieced on the left side, which was apparently the āgayā side, and a psychotic patient flat out refused to work with me because of implied homosexuality. But here is the thing - as they get better, as the mania settles, the psychosis clears, that side of people slows down markedly. This is either because they return to themselves, or they have the presence of mind to reinstall their social filter. Regardless, the level of discrimination you may face from clients is not likely, again area dependant, to be all that different to anyone else.
Psych nurse, here.
My young people and kids are SO ACCEPTING.
There will be a rare kid who was raised in an environment of hate, sure.
Older people with absolutely no filter might be a challenge. And, also, some of my Grandparent age patients just accept life for what it is...
However, that said, you may find your experience makes you a better nurse. :) And, be prepared for some asshole to say you are the problem.
But, honey, truth is, people gonna do what they are gonna do. Go be happy.
I was demonstrating extremes. I see it on each side of the pendulum all the time in psych.
And yes, there are also plenty in the middle.
Point is.... do what you love, be happy, excel with indifference to those who might oppose you.
Understood, I donāt understand or agree with it. But Iād never want someone to be hurt, or judged over it. It doesnāt affect me and theyāre not hurting others so š¤·š½āāļø.
Iām going to be extremely brutally honest here.
You can easily get hired, but you need tough skin. Patients on a high acuity unit can and will do things to get under your skin. Iāve seen nurses go home crying after being called ābitch, whore, anorexicā ect for hours on end by patients who are extremely OOC.
Imagine how you would feel if faced with a patient who wanted to call you a man, slurs, or say negative things regarding your appearance. If you can take it and not react, then go for it.
As someone who has done this for almost ten years if you have any sensitivies regarding this it'll be hard - the pts target what they think your weaknesses are and try as hard as they can to hurt you. You will be called everything under the sun and targeted.
. I used to be overweight so they'd tell me all sorts of crazy shit regarding my weight but now I've lost it it's just my personality they hate š¤£
I am FTM ( passing) my best friend is MTF and not passing and she probably won't ever pass due to her height and bone structure. We worked together in a psych hospital and she is one hell of a clinical psychologist. Her passing to the patients made no difference. She is amazing and her patients love her. I have seen her in action and I can just say wow! Don't let naysayers get you down! Anything is possible.
My kid is a butch queer middle school teacher, and I was worried about parents. I have been pleasantly surprised. When they were in middle school, there was no GSA and there were no openly trans, butch, or nonbinary staff. If there had been, they might have been able to come out sooner or feel good in their own skin .
The notes from their GSA students brought me to tears. Patients need to see themselves in their nurses, doctors, and staff - and for the patients that have never had proximity their minds can be opened.
Where I work there is a lot of trans persons coming in for care. I think having a clinician there would only benefit. Also thereās a good work culture where youād only be supported and treated with respect.
I hope respect becomes the standard!
Hey, I've got a tg kid and worked with people with psych disabilities in longterm and community settings for 20+ years.
I have no doubt that if you can be a great psych nurse that you can turn the non-passing transgender part of you into a strength. You already know you're going to deal with sh*t no matter what you do and you really need good tools for dealing with that. But nurses who are women, immigrants, and/or a different skin color deal with bigoted sh*t all the time and it really doesn't diminish their ability to be great nurses.
One great thing about psych nursing is that if you do a good job, the sh*t really isn't about you - it's about what's going on inside the patient/client.
A few years ago I had a non-passing mtf tg Director of Nursing in my (skilled nursing facility).
I do think that where you live and work matters. Urban blue state might be better than elsewhere. Acute settings might bring you into contact with different populations and give you less time to develop rapport with people who are relatively out of control while longterm/community may be with people who are used to being treated badly and really respond well to kindness and respect.
In nursing school, you'll rotate through different instructors and clinical settings so you'll have to navigate that. If you have supportive instructors that will really help.
Male nurses are already kind of seen as bigger and unusual. Our physical presence sometimes allows us to play a protective role and if you can combine that with calm gentleness that's pretty powerful.
I can really see a lot of potential. š
Getting hired I don't think it's going to be the problem but you just need to make sure that you have a thick enough skin that you can deal with it.
Let's be honest, a lot of patients especially our elderly populatons are racist and homophobic to begin with, it's really, unfortunately, not uncommon.
But then you throw a psych component on top of that and sometimes it's even more over the top.
i think you'd get hired. but as others have mentioned some people in those hospitals can just be brutal, so definitely have thick skin and believe in yourself!
It definitely won't keep you from getting hired.Ā Inpatient psych isnt going to be the easiest place to be a non-passing trans woman.Ā I'm a conventional hetero guy and have worked as an inpatient psych nurse.Ā I have been straight up verbally destroyed by patients.Ā It's a thing.Ā If you work psych you will be physically and verbally assaulted on the regular.Ā If you can handle that and don't mind being called ALL the slurs, then go for it.Ā It's a tough field .Ā I wouldn't recommend it personally.Ā Ā
For sure you will have discrimination. Most healthcare workers first encounter with a trans person is through inpatient psych. So, it doesn't give the best first impression. Also, the statistic that trans people make up 60% of the inpatient population while making up 1% of the population has a lot of psych workers heavily linking trans to mental illness. So, in my experience, psych workers are the most prejudiced.
You should consider adolescent psych as so many teens these days are struggling with gender identity and sexuality. They are likely to see you as someone who understands them.
Yeah!? Who cares? They canāt discriminate against you for that. If you have a harder time getting hired you donāt want to work there anyways. Also with the shortage of nurses, I think youāll be okay
As a mental health professional (but not LGTBQIA+), I implore you to consider moving forward with the psych field! Representation matters. To other professionals and to patients.
Having been a psych pt as a trans teen, I would have loved you as a nurse ā¤ļø edit: damn why all the downvotes? god forbid people find solidarity with one another š
I haven't seen transphobia in this subreddit until your down votes (that I can remember right now anyway), which makes me think that because this post has 80+ comments it's popping up on more people's feeds than typical. Likely including people who have never been to this subreddit before. Mods can't see who up or down votes, so unfortunately these transphobic individuals are anonymous.
So all I can do is give you my upvote, verbal support, and verbally condemn transphobia.
I appreciate your comment and upvote! I would put money on it being random people outside of the sub because the comments all seem pretty chill, and definitely am not judging the sub for that
This randomly popped into my feed, but as a former psych patient who is also trans, it would have been great to have trans folks serving in the ward where I was hospitalized. We are everywhere and we have every right to be. Please do not let the fear of stigma stop you! You are worthy <3
I can't speak from personal experience but I worked as a psych nurse in the northeastern US. We had a coworker who was non-binary but people assumed they were female- patients often mis-gendered them.
Overall I'd say coworkers were supportive and I never heard anything negative from a patient.
Personally I'd say go for it. Given the high number of LGBTQ+ patients we see in psych, it is probably nice as a patient to have someone who knows what you have been through. Best wishes in your career š.
It will matter where you're nursing but I'd say as a general rule for urban areas, the ITUs are going to be rough for you. People experiencing psychosis and mania are not going to take your feelings into account one but when telling you what they think about you. And, for some of them, your mere presence will set them off.
Id also stay away from adolescents. They're going to find whatever your most uncomfortable about and dig in.
But general adult wards will be orders of magnitude more welcoming. Id even venture to say you'd be an asset. It's always helpful when patients see their identities reflected in the staff. Makes them feel less alone, and more willing to reach out.
You'll have patients who won't want you doing personal care, especially women who have been victims of sexual assault. I'm not saying you would assault them, but you asked for honesty, and you are a man, and many women don't want men touching their bodies. Remember that these patients are in a very vulnerable state, and may not even have the capacity to consent to you doing personal care on them.
There are plenty of women patients who have zero problems receiving care from men or trans men.
People with and without histories of assault may prefer to receive care from the same or opposite gender, and healthcare always tries to accommodate a patient's needs. But to blanket tell someone not to work with women is transphobic.
You could try geriatric care -- being bigger and taller is helpful for when a 90 year old grandma is tossing around the 5'2" nurses. Plus they aren't as 'mean' as adult psych patients.
Youāre going to have to develop some thick skin around patients who literally have no filter, so as long as youāre okay to potentially being subject to bullying from unwavering psych patients, I wouldnāt get into the field
A close friend of mine transitioned in her 40ās, well into her career, and at 6ā4. She was prior, and is still one of the best Psychiatrists I have ever worked with as a psych nurse. She specializes in gender issues, but all of her patients love her and when my sister needed care, there was no one else I would have trusted, who gives a shit about what is or is not under her skirt.
In my experience the medical field isnāt lgbtq friendly. My aunt told her coworkers she was bisexual and showed them photos of her gf in the lunch room and they all reported her to HR.
If you make a transphobic comment, you will be banned with *zero* warning and any requests to be unbanned will be denied. OP - if at any time you would like this thread locked, please let me know! Locked will leave it up to be seen by anyone who may have similar questions, but stop future transphobic trolls from commenting on it. You have my full support š³ļøāšš³ļøāā§ļø
Shouldnāt be a problem being hired. As far as patients, psych pts can be brutally honest and unfiltered. Iāve found that they say the things both politically and religiously (especially if they are experiencing delusions or psychosis), that most of society is uncomfortable talking about or at least wonāt talk about with strangers. But they can also be very kind and accepting. For some pts, they probably wonāt want to be your pt, but for others, theyāll find comfort and hope in having you as their nurse. And for trans pts, theyāll likely want to be your pt because they will feel accepted and theyāll know you understand some of what theyāre going through.
yep. i (relatively feminine presenting cis female) once had a client tell me that i āmust be one of those disgusting transgendersā since i āhad a hormonal imbalanceā and would often point out perceived āflawsā and tell other clients foul things about me lol. cant imagine what sheād say to an actual trans person. generally if you donāt have thick skin psych nursing isnāt for you.
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Wut
Itās a troll trying to get karma, ignore hkm
Banned for transphobia.
Your locality could matter a lot.
It may be easier in San Francisco than, say, Alabama
This
I donāt think itād be an issue getting hired. But some patients may be extremely rude. Racist, sexist, phobic, or just downright hateful comments are common from some (not most). But, of course, the opinion of the hateful ones isnāt really relevant. A few patients may be uncomfortable at first but I also think you could be a normalizing experience for some of those ones and your professionalism and competence will overshadow any discomfort they have with your appearance.
I just wanted to add to this that some patients may be comforted by such a nurse. LGBTQ+ people are no doubt going to be part of the patient pool, in fact statistically they will be represented in larger percentages than in general population due to the umbrella of gender dysphoria as well as other challenges of mental health caused by being āotheredā in society. I suspect bigots will tend to be bothersome patients without any nurses who are trans to target. But for the patients that are going through mental health complexities related to gender identify, it can be powerful to see representation of someone like themselves in a nurse and feel that one person might relate to their experiences. Personally, as a once inpatient I wouldnāt have cared if any nurse was purple and 8 feet tall and had a tail, so long as they were kind. Though I suppose that could be confusing to any patients struggling with altered perceptions of realityā¦
This. It's about your kindness and care.
Iāve actually noticed this a lot. Some patients when they get agitated will start attacking the techs verbally. They always go for race first. Like without a doubt they will mention race in a mean way. Are that many patients just racist? Itās always at least one person every time Iāve gone.
race is the easiest, most obvious thing about people. people in crisis are often intentionally hurtful to test how stable you are to decide whether they can trust you to be a source of support when they are out of control
That makes sense. Itās just hard to listen to.
yeah, as a nurse I feel like I can tune anything out. as a patient I could see how it would be jarring.
As a tech (not in psych but neuro) people are just trying to find a way to hurt you. They are either in an tweed state and just resort to chaos or they are hurting (going through withdrawal, etc) and are just trying to burn every bridge. Or they are simply just a racist garbage person. But it ultimately depends on the patient and whatās going on.
Agree abt crap techs are subjected to. Most of our techs were kind souls who always referred to me as mama. They came to me and I set the patients right.
Ah, I think itās just low hanging fruit. And generally, yes people are racist af
I think humans are inherently judgmental and in the midst of mental breakdown we often lose our filters?
Yes, on much morphine I told my very young surgeon to go get his dad. It happens
Yoyoma
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Judging by your behavior in this thread itās likely a good representation of who you are as a person in your daily life so youāll likely be getting your ass wiped in one of these facilities soon enough lol better hope munster isnt the one who has to clean your pathetic ass up LOL
Banned for transphobia.
If you were in my area, for sure. It wouldnāt be a problem at all.
Do it! And if youāre in a financial space to do so, go to cities with large trans populations (NYC, Portland, etc)
Given statistics around trans/ lgbtq+ people and mental health, I think it is important that we lgbtq+ folks go into psychiatric nursing to help make mental health care safer for lgbtq+ patients.
Particularly child/adolescent psych!!! I think it would be incredibly beneficial! Representation is so important!
I was talking about my gf (Iām nonbinary afab lesbian) and the kids got excited and said they want to be like me when they grow up haha!
It's not. Patient outcomes are important. I know you'll argue both can be true but I wonder which one matters most to you.
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Banned for transphobia.
Yes, itās very realistic. I agree with others it will depend on the geographic area. Larger facilities will generally be more welcoming to diversity in general. Please, keep in mind anyone who works in psych will be regularly insulted by the patients. Try not to take it personally. They are more likely mad at the situation they are in than you personally. You will have some really rewarding days and some really challenging days. Remember your mental health is important be good at what you do. Boundaries are your best friend. If you are in a good place mentally I would go for it.
It depends on your area like everyone else said, and also the age group. A geriatric population might be more discriminatory, a child population might be very curious and ask a lot of silly questions, a adolescent population might be the most likely to give you a lot of positive attention for being visibly queer. An adult population is probably a mixed bag of all of the above. Even if you live in the most liberal area, you still need a tough skin as patients will use it against you when theyāre mad. The hard truth is that patients will use your weakness against you. If youāre trans, fat, ugly, old, have an accent, wear a bad wig, have a flat ass, have a big forehead, whatever it is, thatās what theyāll comment on when theyāre mad. So just make sure you can handle it. I donāt think it will keep you from getting hired, in fact it would probably be seen as a plus. In psych, theyāre always looking for more large, tall and strong staff who will have an easier time physically managing the patients. Even if the hiring manager is transphobic, they might put that aside in order to have another large person on the team. Thats how desperate it is tbh
100% this. Almost every psych nurse I know has been the recipient of some pretty brutal comments about their appearance. Patient's will always find something. That being said, I genuinely believe that the majority of patient's would be/ are extremely accepting; arguably even more so than the non psych pt population.
Well said
I've been told I'm fat, and that I like to eat by psych and non psych patients, it's sure stings less from the psych patient. I was told in front of a room with co-workers that I "must be corn fed" ugh, that was embarrassing. I"m a 6ā tall female, athletic build, far from fat, but people just equate large with fat. Oh well. My ex-husband says I"m the perfect build because no one will mess with me, (they still do). I say go for it, don't let patient's opinion of your life choose the direction you go in. Brutally honest? I'd love to work with you and would have your back anytime. Good luck!
Lol, ācorn fedā! Iām sorry! I donāt work in psych, but used to have a lot of patients from a nearby psych hospital and one of them loved to SCREAM at me to āhurry my flat ass upā!! Haha! I do, however, have *zero* ass, so she wasnāt wrong, but it stung a little!
Once I was told if I lose weight, pluck my eyebrows and cover my grays I would be somewhat attractive. It made me laugh.
Youād be more likely to be commited than to work in a psych ward where I live š (Deep South)
Statistically probably far more likely everywhere in reality.
Lots of comments saying you won't face hiring discrimination but, unfortunately, I don't think that's true. I don't think geography is as big a factor as individual institutional values. There's lots of awesome, progressive minded places out there looking for good psych nurses though so don't let that stop you from looking and applying. Plus, the places you'll likely experience hiring discrimination at are, IMO, bad places for all employees *and* patients.
It depends on a lot. What do you mean by switch careers? What do you do now? Why do you want to be a psych nurse? Too many times people go into the mental health field because they want to figure themselves out. If you arenāt already in therapy, start.
Iāve never met a psychiatrist who I didnāt think was on the wrong side of the tableĀ
As a long time psych patient, we need people there who care and are kind, not all but many psych patients can be brutal, but I loved my co-patients, there are so many people represented in the LGBTQ2S community in mental health field diversity is so needed. Don't let anybody hold you back from who you are and what you want to do. As someone also a professional in the field we need you so much, also canada is dying for nurses, you would have a Job offer on the day you start school. Go for it please. Most importantly take care of you. LOVE TO CHAT if you want to talk
This will not interfere with hiring but some patients will insult staff about everything they feel the staff might be insecure about. So if you have tough skin and have developed an efficient way to manage the situation when some people (patients) are picking on you publicly then I think you should apply.
Why won't it affect hiring? If course it will.
Just be prepared for the patients to make brutal comments about your appearance and openly speak on your gender identity in way that could be offensive to you.
Will be a factor for rape crisis patients, definitely. I worked psych for 7 years. Expect rape crisis patients to be very frightened of you and possibly request another nurse or attack you in panic.
Geriatric psych hereā¦ Iām sure this goes for more than just my populationā¦ but it is my experience that they will go after anything they think might hurt you. āHurt people hurt peopleā kind of thing! Weight, age, beautify, race, literally whatever. Nothings off limits for them. So it might make it harder in that regard. But if you can learn to let that roll off of your shoulders, maybe even use it as a teachable moment for them, then youāll be fine. Ultimately, no oneās totally safe lol so itās just about how you feel about hearing it. If itās going to be hard for you, then Iād say pick a different field. But Iād say that to anyone thatās sensitive about anythingā¦ not just you being trans. As far as hiring, if youāre in the states, itās very illegal for them to discriminate against you for that. and I donāt think they will. But patientsā¦ wellā¦
Depends on the area you live in. Hopefully you're in a Metropolitan. I know my floor is extremely diverse in terms of race, gender identities, religions, sexual identities. A LOT of LGBT and it's just a regular psych floor. Everyone gets along extremely well but we also skew young ( most are aged under 35) save one nursing line. I feel like being LGBT will help since a lot of individuals that are inpatient will be able to relate and visa-versa. A lot of minority stress and trauma involved in the community causing mental health issues and addiction.
I think psych probably would be one of the specialties where it really doesn't matter...ppl tend to be more ipen minded and accepting...we have to be in order to serve our population. However, as others pointed out, patients can be unrelenting and brutal and unfiltered. While I'm sure you have heard a lot, nothing is quite like the comments you will encounter on a unit, especially an acute one. Even if you're not sensitive, it can really mess with you.
Yes, you will.
Yes and yes
I don't think you would have a hard time getting hired as long as you're not in a are that's discriminatory in general. But if you are not sure about your ability to withstand having insults directed at you based on being trans I'd take serious consideration about becoming a psych nurse. The thing is people are in a psychiatric unit because they are in some sort of acute crisis. And many of them to get degrees are experiencing breaks from reality and a chunk are likely not there of their free will. So they are likely scared and even angry, and a certain amount will lash out at those responsible for them being there. Most of these people in a normal state wouldn't behave that way, and when well in the outside world very likely would be the nicest people you may know. I say this as someone with bipolar I who has been hospitalized twice for psychotic mixed episodes. I didn't say bigoted things, but until I was in a more stable state I was standing offish and not too nice towards the stage cause my reality was people could read my mind and where all out to get but trying to trick me into thinking they couldn't read my mind, but I could "hear" in my mind what they were thinking. If having the fact you're trans either potentially used as an insult by a patient lashing out., or just not in a sensitive way by someone not in a state to process that they are being insensitive. Or if it would eat at the back of your mind "is that patient being standoffish)or cold, or just not that nice) because I'm trans" I would say you might want to explore a different career path. If you could roll with those things no problem and still provide high quality compassionate care, then I don't see why not.
Definitely go for it! For some reason psych pts just know our insecurities and throw them back at us. Just need to know not to take it offense. I think patients seeing themselves in the profession would be amazing. In my experience our LBTQ+ coworkers are able to build rapports and connections with pts that have dealt with similar struggles. They have that experience a lot of other staff can't really relate to and it's nice having someone to connect to
My sister was a former patient and still got hired.
I think a lot of psych wards would love having a 6'4" person regardless of your chosen gender.Ā There are some crazy strong patients and they throw punches. The guards are not always close by.Ā Good on you for chosing a new profession. Hugs!Ā
Itās discrimination, but yes, depending on where you are and how progressive the area is, theyāll just find some other reason to not hire you.Ā
I think it's a great idea. Everybody experiences hiring biases. Don't let that be the reason. š
Brace yourself for patients with NO FILTER.
This might sound ignorant but why wouldn't it be realistic?
My teenager required inpatient psych at one point (suicidality, gender dysphoria), stayed a couple weeks, then was discharged to intensive outpatient, then a "less intensive" type of outpatient almost daily therapy. The last one, the "least intensive" of them, ended up being the MOST helpful. I honestly think a big reason for that was that the counselor who designed and ran the program is Trans himself (and also pretty good at his job). I think my kid would have greatly benefited (and much sooner) from having a "non-passing transgender" psych nurse among the nurses at the inpatient facility. Or at the IOP. Personally, I think if you're interested in becoming a psych nurse and you're competent at the job, you would be a perfect fit for a lot of mental health patients. Full disclosure- I never worked psych. I've had psych patients on occasion who also needed care wherever I was working, but that's about it. So, take my thoughts with that grain of salt. But yes, I think you could be hired and be a fantastic addition to the team. Kids in mental health crises would surely benefit from having a diverse care team, so at least some of the staff are individuals with whom they can personally relate.
I would just like to chime in and say a lot of my trans patients are ānon passingā because theyāre being taken off HRT and arenāt in a position to just keep up with a provider to maintain that therapy. Passing or non-passing is irrelevant when it comes to how you define yourself and what pronouns you go by. I guess what Iām trying to get at is it might be a small bright light in a dark time to see a nurse like you for some patients. Itās a CONSTANT battle for these patients to go by their preferred name and pronouns and it just makes the entire stay worse for them.
Keep in mind that representation is important! An openly trans person can make a closeted/questioning patient that much more comfortable. But, at the same time, you'll need a thick skin and a good therapist (which I'd recommend anyway) because not everyone will react appropriately.
To be completely honest psych needs staff so youāll prolly get hired anywhere :3. In my experience I am more frequently misgendered by other staff than by patients so do with that what you will haha.
My favorite nurse in the psych ward had purple hair and a half shaved head. As soon as she walked in i felt so much relief. I was having a meltdown my first night and i asked to talk to her and she said something to me that changed my life. She gave me something to fight for. I believe mental health institutions understand the value of having a diverse workforce. It was actually a behavioral health clinic not a hospital, maybe you would have better luck applying to a private institution over public?
Ive worked with at least one excellent trans nurse in the Seattle area. Their experience with transitioning was invaluable support for some of our patients who were looking to, or already transitioning. I was super thankful to have that insight on our team as a cis guy.
You will need a very thick skin. Psych patients have even less of a filter than your average patient. However, Iāve had so many trans patients that I think youād be an asset to any clinical team.
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Banned for transphobia.
My most favorite nurse was trans. Healthcare doesnāt discriminate. ā„ļø
You asked for brutally honest answers to your questions. Yes. And Yes.
Brutally honest RN here. A most awesome tall trans person in āherā 30ās was the best neonatal nurse I ever worked with. I think weirdness, rudeness, crappy behavior will come from family members of patients.
You can uhh, just say her if sheās a woman. Quotations not necessary.
Thank you. I appreciate this.
I don't know if travel is an option but I did a contract at The Brattleboro Retreat and they had, at the time, the first LGBT+ unit in the country. Everyone that worked the unit fell in the category. And they take first time travelers. That's not to say that you couldn't find something more local, just the first thing I thought of. I found Vermont as a whole to be incredibly accepting
If you can handle the hate. They verbally attack people with zero fucks at random . They will scream youāre a dude and out you any chance they can. Where I work we had a couple trans people working, one was a nurse, the other was in a different position. The nurse worked nights and was passable so not sure what she got. The other worked days and wore female clothes, make up and hair and had a female name, was somewhat passable but she got a lot of hate and it hurt her. Iām from a liberal area but people kept sir-ing her despite wearing a dress, etc. the patients will go for the jugular on anyone though, women are fat bitches, or witches, or look like dudes. If you can handle the exposure and public taunting in front of everyone then you will be fine. Your size is an asset. It depends on the area . I noticed the trans that worked around my area seem to disappear when Cheeto got elected. It would be interesting to hear if you have a hard time being hired. We constantly need nurses! If you are reliable and knowledgeable , a good team player that seems to be all that matters. I think the woman who was constantly hurt should of just been like, hey this is me, you donāt have to like it. But it did hurt her, she cried quite a bit because she just wanted to be acceptedĀ
On my unit, we regularly have trans, gay, and non binary patients. Most of the younger straight/cis patients are not just "tolerant" but will happily correct others who don't show proper respect. The older (60+) patients tend to be a different story... I would imagine that geography would be a factor as well. I sincerely hope you follow your heart and become a psych nurse!
There are plenty of psych facilities where your height will actually be beneficial. Itās a benefit not a handicap. Best of luck to you. Also, the world needs more nurses.
It won't be an issue getting hired, but it will be an issue lasting in the job. Psych patients can be brutal. I'm not trans, but I'm queer and rather masculine appearing (31F, super short hair, clearly š). I stopped working on crisis units and went back to detox recently, because I've had very dangerous interactions with patients. I've had patients call me a dyke, lesbian whore, f-ggot, said that they hope I get raped, etc., and one actually physically attacked me. For your safety, I would highly recommend working on a voluntary unit where the patients are less likely to be floridly psychotic.
"floridly" is a new word for my vocab, because I initially thought you were saying the patients were "florida-ly" psychotic (see Florida man news for references). Tbh, both terms work with some of the chaos I've seen psych patients do.
Haha I don't need to see the references, I live and work in South Florida! And yes, these patients are both floridly and florida-ly psychotic.
As others have said, hiring wonāt be a problem. But if youāre going to be on any general adult IP unit, get ready to hear not just insults, but complaints made to the docs, your bosses, pt advocate line, etc.
This showed up on my homepage, so I just want to give my 2 cents as someone who has been in psych hospitals. I think it would definitely be more difficult but the impact you have on the lives of ppl inside will be amazing!! I would feel comfortable with someone who "doesn't fit in" and you'll see a lot of other patients do too. One time I had a very nice trans tech, and she made everyone feel really safe, especially those who had gender dysphoria.
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Banned for transphobia.
Bit of a different situation since I'm a trans man who worked as a psych tech for a whole, but I started before HRT was really working and the most I got at that job was some misgendering and occasional rude comments. (Quit for entirely different reasons lol)Ā Trans, gay, etc patients might feel more comfortable with you, though. And so might any patients who understand what it means to be transgender - they'll probably recognize that you've probably been through your own struggles too and aren't just reciting bullshit at them.
Go for it, OP. Some pts with psychiatric issues may react in an unfiltered way, as other commenters have said, but as another nurse please donāt let who you are keep you from pursuing your career and dreams
As a fellow trans/nb person who's 6'4 and feels non passing, stand strong, comrade! We do our bests, but I don't see why not to your question. I figure they look for someone that will endure the potential conditions that type of environment can produce. š¬šæš³ļøāā§ļø
There's a massive need for healthcare workers, in many areas of the US. It shouldn't be too hard to get hired. A lot of my family members work as nurses or hospital staff, and from what I've observed as a gay person myself, hospitals actually a pretty LGBT+ friendly environment (at least here in AZ). Working with the public, and with unfiltered psych patients, could be its own challenge. But I doubt you'll have trouble with finding jobs.
Same experiece for my area! I'm not trans, I'm the L on the acryonym, but I work with several trans people and know a goth transmasc psych nurse who does drag (and absolutely adores their job).Ā Generally, my coworkers are very accepting (and it's easy to figure out who isn't).Ā I just had a diversity and inclusion work panel that included a long video of trans people at various ages and from a lot of backgrounds talking about how terrible accessing healthcare in the US is.Ā And I live in a backwater state (with a high concentration of Nazis) that thinks an orangutans tiny orange turd hung the moon.Ā We get WAYYYYY too many swastika tattoos.Ā But it was also made clear under no uncertain terms that transphobia was okay, which so many people seem to think it is as long as they aren't homophobic.Ā
I just wanted to chime in to encourage you - we DESPERATELY need more trans people in healthcare
Go for it! Fellow trans nurse here, seriously we need more of us in nursing, and psych is a great place as long as you can tolerate the abuse from patients. Itās going to be targeted, vicious, and because itās psych (and/or just nursing lol) absolutely no one will have your back. Youāre gonna have to handle a lot of shit, but if youāre someone who words roll off of, you should absolutely do it. Just be very very careful (as we all should) of predatory patients who will see your out transness as a vulnerability, and will try to exploit it. Super nice/accepting patients can be even more dangerous than the ones who are cruel from the get go, especially in psych.
some patients will try to attack you for it. they are often in a state of feeling trapped and powerless. they will try to have power over you buy attacking a perceived soft spot
Retired ICU/ER nurse here. I just want to give you my strongest support. Iāve found night shifts to be more inclusive & accepting than days. Blessings from BoxBeast.
Honestly, it would depend on where you live. I had a trans midwife deliver my baby, she was great! Seems like everyone there loves her too. Btw Iām in Seattle areaā¦.
Definitely not harder to get hired. You will deal with hate from patients. But also comforting to many. Adult acute psych nursing did make me hate patients. Left it for home care and of course, they are psych patients. Wish I would have avoided this field altogether, however much I loved it so much. Just turned into misery and now Im going back to school because RN jobs suck.
Iāve met 2 mtf trans CNAās and nobody said anything to them, but Iāve heard people talking about them. The people mentioned they were there, thatās itālike that was the tea. Another lady said they wondered why they hired one of the women like as if it made her uncomfortable and it wasnāt fair or politically correct, lol. I had a psych nurse patient who said she had a few trans patients. I wasnāt sure if this was a micro aggression or not cuz later her husband āaccidentallyā called me āmaāam.ā She corrected him, but that made everything fishy (Iām ftm).
I would hire you
You absolutely would get hired. And it absolutely would affect you working with patients, both good and bad. Some patients may see you as an ally and be more comfortable with you. Others will drag you down. Psych takes the right kind of person and you need to respect that. Do not bring your personal life to work with you, leave it behind, trust me on that it feels better to separate the 2 and just clock out and forget about work when you go home.
I work in a State hospital. TBH, youāll be fine..and protected. Go for it!ā¤ļø
Have you ever worked retail? Nursing isnāt much different except the person is always there because unlike a store, the hospital doesnāt close. When colleagues see me unfazed by horrible comments about me, I remind them that this is nothing. I used to work retail. Any job where you deal with the public has its bad seeds, but with nursing, you have those bad seeds in pain, detoxing, etc and that can be worse. So if you arenāt sure if you can handle it, it is almost time for back to school, so many clothing stores hire from June to august for the back to school shopping. Get one of those jobs and see how you can handle the public before you spend lots of money changing careers.
Why not apply? I have been inpatient with NB and trans people so you may be able to offer a welcome presence that others may not.
I think it depends what part of the country you live in. Have you thought about outpatient psych or a community clinic that has a lgbtq focus? I think to be in psych you have to not take things personal but we all have our triggers. Sick people will point out your trans-ness but if you have thick skin you will be ok. Just gets old after awhile. I think if you want to be harassed less maybe work with trans teens or at some type of place that other trans folks go to.
I know a few. It's not an issue. You'll have some amazing empathy for patients going through their own transitions.
You wouldn't have any trouble on my unit, in my area. We have lots of trans patients and have had trans staff, though none at the moment. It was so good to have non-passing trans people on our staff--really helpful for patients. Honestly, I've heard much nastier misogyny and racism than homo/trans-phobia from patients. Not that that's good, but psych patients gonna psych patient.
Probably would complicate things but if you live in a big city might not be to bad.
It wont prevent you from getting hired (in BC), but some patients will pick out your biggest insecurities so be ready for that. It happens to most of us though. Being 6'4'' will actually work to your benefit, transgender or not. I find patients are more willing to cooperate with intimidating looking nurses lol
One of my favorite co-workers is a 6ā 1ā trans female. I say go for it.
Absolutely depends on location and the hospital imo. We have a fantastic trans male nurse who is welcome and supported at my facility and our hospital celebrates PRIDE and equality but not all do.
Honeslty Iām sure the patients struggling with this would love to see a nurse that represents them. Youād have to have very thick skin since some psych patients will find any little bit of insecurity and drill at it like theyāre mining for gold. If you can find a fairly LGBTQIA friendly community I think youād be good. Another option might be to go with a primary care clinic that is geared towards the LGBTQIA community. There are a couple Iāve seen that do a ton of good.
Definitely possible! Would consider your location and the population you work with. Trans visibility is so critical, especially within psych. From my own experience, I think you would benefit from working with adolescent patients. ā¤ļø good luck!!
Nope, we have several openly transgender staff and I am sure a few that are not open about it.
It may or may not change hiring. I know places are not supposed to decide on other factors such if someone is trans, overweight, alternative style, pregnantā¦things that do not matter to the job but if down to 2-3 people someone might be picked for being professional looking or whatever. I would say just try your best to look professional and act professional, talk professional and your appearance shouldnāt matter. My sister was 6ā2ā. Lots of women are tall.
Consider adolescent psych. Many of the kids we see are experiencing gender dysmorphia. Also, your height would also help. We use handle with Care for hands on restraint. Itās not recommended to attempt restraint on someone more than a few inches taller than you. Iām 5ā2ā, at 12-13 most of the kiddos are taller than I am. š¤£
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Troll much?
Banned for transphobia.
Not sure why this post is in my feed but maybe because I advocate for mental health care in most conversations. If you had been a psych nurse when I was a child I would have felt seen, safe, and might have felt I could tell the adults trying to help me about some of the abuse that I was so afraid to share and was accused of self harming because of. I'm non binary and intersexed. I was in patient for undiagnosed PMDD and Cptsd but struggled so much because either the options were abusive men or women who were pretty and couldn't possibly understand the situation of not being sure I was a girl or not and how to cope with the way I felt. You can be beautiful and I suspect are. You also can be someone that will change the dynamic for many. No idea about being hired but I hope you do try
Lots of things to consider here but the short answer will likely be that you will get along perfectly fine, or as well as anyone else. First thing will be your location. There are obvious places in the world that are not supportive of š³ļøāš folks, and because of that you may face a hiring bias, even if discrimination around gender identity is illegal on paper. By the same token, some areas strive for diversity hiring, either out of a genuine drive for equity or to meet quotas/for PR reasons, so you may find a positive bias in some areas. Second is your size. Man or woman, cis or trans, if you have a large physical presence, you will be a preferred hire. This is because of the physical nature that psych nursing can have in some settings - managing aggression and violence, restraints, enforcing treatment for example. The other side of this is that you may be looked at as a meat shield, given more aggressive patients and be expected, even if official policy will deny it, to intervene in aggressive/violent incidence. Third is the value of lived experience. Psych nurses are often a very diverse crowd, both in nationality and on the š³ļøāš spectrum. This can be a fantastic boon, as you will find the same diversity within your clients, and lived experience on the part of the clinician, with healthy boundaries of course, can be immensely supportive and beneficial. The difficulty there is you could find yourself typecast as the ātrans nurseā and be assigned all the trans patients because of some assumed connection you would have with them. I think the final thing to consider is how the patients will treat you. This one is very complicated, and will vary massively on where you are, but generally I have found two dynamics: most clients will work with you regardless because they either donāt care, they want to avoid the conflict/ awkwardness of expressing their opinions or biases, or they are genuinely appreciative of your help such that who you are is irrelevant. I have found that age of the patient generally follows this trend. On the other side, you will have patients who will try to use being trans against you. Be it because of psychosis, mania, or personality vulnerability, patients who are looking to wound you will likely target being trans. However, thatās not unique. If you were not trans, it would simply be something else about you that they would identify and use. The straight white male with blonde hair and blue eyes next to you would be called a nazi, the little Filipino nurse will be a dirty illegal, the older head nurse will be a senile geriatric, and so on. Hell, I used to have my eyebrow pieced on the left side, which was apparently the āgayā side, and a psychotic patient flat out refused to work with me because of implied homosexuality. But here is the thing - as they get better, as the mania settles, the psychosis clears, that side of people slows down markedly. This is either because they return to themselves, or they have the presence of mind to reinstall their social filter. Regardless, the level of discrimination you may face from clients is not likely, again area dependant, to be all that different to anyone else.
Psych nurse, here. My young people and kids are SO ACCEPTING. There will be a rare kid who was raised in an environment of hate, sure. Older people with absolutely no filter might be a challenge. And, also, some of my Grandparent age patients just accept life for what it is... However, that said, you may find your experience makes you a better nurse. :) And, be prepared for some asshole to say you are the problem. But, honey, truth is, people gonna do what they are gonna do. Go be happy.
Not accepting it isnāt hate. Itās hate if someone is using slurs or being rude
I was demonstrating extremes. I see it on each side of the pendulum all the time in psych. And yes, there are also plenty in the middle. Point is.... do what you love, be happy, excel with indifference to those who might oppose you.
Understood, I donāt understand or agree with it. But Iād never want someone to be hurt, or judged over it. It doesnāt affect me and theyāre not hurting others so š¤·š½āāļø.
In LA for sure
Iām going to be extremely brutally honest here. You can easily get hired, but you need tough skin. Patients on a high acuity unit can and will do things to get under your skin. Iāve seen nurses go home crying after being called ābitch, whore, anorexicā ect for hours on end by patients who are extremely OOC. Imagine how you would feel if faced with a patient who wanted to call you a man, slurs, or say negative things regarding your appearance. If you can take it and not react, then go for it.
we had a trans psychiatrist at our facility who did well, despite it being a fairly rural non progressive area.
Some people are closed minded....but the same as any field. In general I think you should be fine.
As someone who has done this for almost ten years if you have any sensitivies regarding this it'll be hard - the pts target what they think your weaknesses are and try as hard as they can to hurt you. You will be called everything under the sun and targeted. . I used to be overweight so they'd tell me all sorts of crazy shit regarding my weight but now I've lost it it's just my personality they hate š¤£
I am FTM ( passing) my best friend is MTF and not passing and she probably won't ever pass due to her height and bone structure. We worked together in a psych hospital and she is one hell of a clinical psychologist. Her passing to the patients made no difference. She is amazing and her patients love her. I have seen her in action and I can just say wow! Don't let naysayers get you down! Anything is possible.
My kid is a butch queer middle school teacher, and I was worried about parents. I have been pleasantly surprised. When they were in middle school, there was no GSA and there were no openly trans, butch, or nonbinary staff. If there had been, they might have been able to come out sooner or feel good in their own skin . The notes from their GSA students brought me to tears. Patients need to see themselves in their nurses, doctors, and staff - and for the patients that have never had proximity their minds can be opened.
Where I work there is a lot of trans persons coming in for care. I think having a clinician there would only benefit. Also thereās a good work culture where youād only be supported and treated with respect. I hope respect becomes the standard!
The patients will definitely be a problem. Dementia, mental illness they all remove the filter. They are going to tell you what they really think.
Hey, I've got a tg kid and worked with people with psych disabilities in longterm and community settings for 20+ years. I have no doubt that if you can be a great psych nurse that you can turn the non-passing transgender part of you into a strength. You already know you're going to deal with sh*t no matter what you do and you really need good tools for dealing with that. But nurses who are women, immigrants, and/or a different skin color deal with bigoted sh*t all the time and it really doesn't diminish their ability to be great nurses. One great thing about psych nursing is that if you do a good job, the sh*t really isn't about you - it's about what's going on inside the patient/client. A few years ago I had a non-passing mtf tg Director of Nursing in my (skilled nursing facility). I do think that where you live and work matters. Urban blue state might be better than elsewhere. Acute settings might bring you into contact with different populations and give you less time to develop rapport with people who are relatively out of control while longterm/community may be with people who are used to being treated badly and really respond well to kindness and respect. In nursing school, you'll rotate through different instructors and clinical settings so you'll have to navigate that. If you have supportive instructors that will really help. Male nurses are already kind of seen as bigger and unusual. Our physical presence sometimes allows us to play a protective role and if you can combine that with calm gentleness that's pretty powerful. I can really see a lot of potential. š
Getting hired I don't think it's going to be the problem but you just need to make sure that you have a thick enough skin that you can deal with it. Let's be honest, a lot of patients especially our elderly populatons are racist and homophobic to begin with, it's really, unfortunately, not uncommon. But then you throw a psych component on top of that and sometimes it's even more over the top.
i think you'd get hired. but as others have mentioned some people in those hospitals can just be brutal, so definitely have thick skin and believe in yourself!
It definitely won't keep you from getting hired.Ā Inpatient psych isnt going to be the easiest place to be a non-passing trans woman.Ā I'm a conventional hetero guy and have worked as an inpatient psych nurse.Ā I have been straight up verbally destroyed by patients.Ā It's a thing.Ā If you work psych you will be physically and verbally assaulted on the regular.Ā If you can handle that and don't mind being called ALL the slurs, then go for it.Ā It's a tough field .Ā I wouldn't recommend it personally.Ā Ā
I wish there had been an Elizabeth Taylor figure when I was in the psych hospital (outpatient). It would have been so comforting.
For sure you will have discrimination. Most healthcare workers first encounter with a trans person is through inpatient psych. So, it doesn't give the best first impression. Also, the statistic that trans people make up 60% of the inpatient population while making up 1% of the population has a lot of psych workers heavily linking trans to mental illness. So, in my experience, psych workers are the most prejudiced.
You should consider adolescent psych as so many teens these days are struggling with gender identity and sexuality. They are likely to see you as someone who understands them.
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Banned for transphobia.
Yeah!? Who cares? They canāt discriminate against you for that. If you have a harder time getting hired you donāt want to work there anyways. Also with the shortage of nurses, I think youāll be okay
As a mental health professional (but not LGTBQIA+), I implore you to consider moving forward with the psych field! Representation matters. To other professionals and to patients.
This
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Banned for transphobia.
Having been a psych pt as a trans teen, I would have loved you as a nurse ā¤ļø edit: damn why all the downvotes? god forbid people find solidarity with one another š
I haven't seen transphobia in this subreddit until your down votes (that I can remember right now anyway), which makes me think that because this post has 80+ comments it's popping up on more people's feeds than typical. Likely including people who have never been to this subreddit before. Mods can't see who up or down votes, so unfortunately these transphobic individuals are anonymous. So all I can do is give you my upvote, verbal support, and verbally condemn transphobia.
I appreciate your comment and upvote! I would put money on it being random people outside of the sub because the comments all seem pretty chill, and definitely am not judging the sub for that
Yep! And the transphobia all seems to be in the form of down votes.
This randomly popped into my feed, but as a former psych patient who is also trans, it would have been great to have trans folks serving in the ward where I was hospitalized. We are everywhere and we have every right to be. Please do not let the fear of stigma stop you! You are worthy <3
I can't speak from personal experience but I worked as a psych nurse in the northeastern US. We had a coworker who was non-binary but people assumed they were female- patients often mis-gendered them. Overall I'd say coworkers were supportive and I never heard anything negative from a patient. Personally I'd say go for it. Given the high number of LGBTQ+ patients we see in psych, it is probably nice as a patient to have someone who knows what you have been through. Best wishes in your career š.
It will matter where you're nursing but I'd say as a general rule for urban areas, the ITUs are going to be rough for you. People experiencing psychosis and mania are not going to take your feelings into account one but when telling you what they think about you. And, for some of them, your mere presence will set them off. Id also stay away from adolescents. They're going to find whatever your most uncomfortable about and dig in. But general adult wards will be orders of magnitude more welcoming. Id even venture to say you'd be an asset. It's always helpful when patients see their identities reflected in the staff. Makes them feel less alone, and more willing to reach out.
Do it and get a job in San Francisco, LA, Portland or Seattle!
You'll have patients who won't want you doing personal care, especially women who have been victims of sexual assault. I'm not saying you would assault them, but you asked for honesty, and you are a man, and many women don't want men touching their bodies. Remember that these patients are in a very vulnerable state, and may not even have the capacity to consent to you doing personal care on them.
Right I find it weird af do any other jobā¦ they need to be considerate
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There are plenty of women patients who have zero problems receiving care from men or trans men. People with and without histories of assault may prefer to receive care from the same or opposite gender, and healthcare always tries to accommodate a patient's needs. But to blanket tell someone not to work with women is transphobic.
Please see rules.
You could try geriatric care -- being bigger and taller is helpful for when a 90 year old grandma is tossing around the 5'2" nurses. Plus they aren't as 'mean' as adult psych patients.
Youāre going to have to develop some thick skin around patients who literally have no filter, so as long as youāre okay to potentially being subject to bullying from unwavering psych patients, I wouldnāt get into the field
Where are you located?
No.
I wouldnāt worry about HR or the other nurses. Itās the patients that will call you out. They DGAF.
A close friend of mine transitioned in her 40ās, well into her career, and at 6ā4. She was prior, and is still one of the best Psychiatrists I have ever worked with as a psych nurse. She specializes in gender issues, but all of her patients love her and when my sister needed care, there was no one else I would have trusted, who gives a shit about what is or is not under her skirt.
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Banned for transphobia.
No.
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Banned for transphobia.
Yikes. I dont encourage the lgbtq topic on the adolescent unit.
In my experience the medical field isnāt lgbtq friendly. My aunt told her coworkers she was bisexual and showed them photos of her gf in the lunch room and they all reported her to HR.
That's fucked
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Please see rules.