Problem: You are a nursing student who is working in a clinic that specializes in caring for patients that identify with the LGBTQ+ community. Today is your first day at the site and you have very little experience with people who identify as LGBTQ+. Accordingly, you are worried of saying something wrong or appearing ignorant or disrespectful. Nonetheless, you are grateful for the learning opportunity. As you prepare to see your next patient, you check the chart and see that you will be assessing Jennifer Cain. You anticipate a female patient but as Jennifer enters, you are not fully sure if Jennifer is female or male. You quickly look back to the chart and notice the following:
"Sex = female; Gender = non-binary; Pronouns = they/them."
Problem 1: How would you interpret what Jennifer's chart says? What is the difference between sex and gender? What does pronouns refer to?
Problem 2: When assessing this patient, should you evaluate them with consideration of the patient as a male, female, neither, both, or other?
Problem 3: Access to culturally congruent healthcare is a disparity among the LGBTQ+ community and often, members of this community do not feel that providers understand their unique health needs. How do you think nurses could be more culturally sensitive and aware when caring for this population?
Please provide references