A hospital worker made a shocking confession on Reddit that went viral. He revealed he doesn’t care about his patient’s legal sex or gender identity at work.
Thousands of Samples a Day
He knows that what he’s about to say is going to be controversial, but he has to get it off his chest. He works in a hospital lab and he doesn’t care about his patients’ legal sex or gender identity at work.
Okay, let’s get one thing straight. This guy doesn’t care. And no, it’s not about being heartless or insensitive.
It’s about working in a busy hospital lab, where the pressure is on, and mistakes can cost lives. So, when it comes to patients’ legal sex or gender identity, he just can’t take chances.
Working in a hospital lab is no joke. The original poster (OP) deals with about a thousand samples a day, and the pressure is always on.
He Takes Pride in His Work
But the OP takes pride in caring for and about the patients, even though he doesn’t see or talk to them directly. But one busy day, short-staffed and swamped with ER samples, things got out of hand.
In the midst of the chaos, the OP came across a blood sample of a male patient requesting testing for hCG.
Now, for those who don’t know, hCG is a hormone produced by the placenta, and it’s tested to determine if a female is pregnant and how far along she is.
The OP’s lab does have a test for men for hCG, but it’s ordered differently, not tested in-house, and used to detect tumors, not fetuses.
Was She Biologically Female?
The OP knew that this test would take at least 20-30 minutes, sometimes even longer, up to an hour if it needed to be diluted for women.
And with the ER swamped, it took a while to confirm that the patient was biologically female, as the label didn’t specify the biological sex, just the name, DOB, location, test requested, gender, and medical record number.
This one confusion held up the OP’s time and his coworkers’ time and delayed the patient from receiving proper care. It also delayed the team from helping other ER patients.
And that’s when the OP realized that legal sex or gender identity didn’t really matter when it came to healthcare. The OP needs to know the biological gender to ensure proper diagnosis and treatment.
Biological Gender Makes a Difference in Patient Care
The OP shared an example of how knowing the biological gender could make a difference in patient care. If a female has semen in her urine, the lab needs to alert legal, and it can lead to a lot of paperwork and family issues.
But if the patient is actually a biological male who identifies as female, then it’s just a waste of time and causes unnecessary stress. It’s a matter of accuracy and efficiency in healthcare.
Another concern the OP shared was about medication. The OP’s friend works in a pharmacy and sometimes doesn’t see patients. But overlooking the biological gender could lead to dangerous consequences.
Imagine a bio-female who identifies as male getting a male dosage of painkillers. Male dosages are higher than female dosages, so the risk of overdose is real. It’s a matter of patient safety.
Not Disregarding Gender Identity
The OP cares deeply about the well-being of all patients. But to help the healthcare team provide the best care, patients need to provide their biological gender.
It’s not about disregarding gender identity or pronoun preferences; it’s about ensuring accurate and efficient healthcare delivery. Less room for error benefits everyone, including the patients themselves.
The OP even spoke to the manager about this recent issue, and they are trying to find a solution.
Perhaps having only the patients’ biological sex on the label could be a way forward. But it’s not an easy task, as it involves coordination with other departments and changes across all locations.
It might take time, but the OP is hopeful for a resolution.
Healthcare Protocols
So, hate or not, The OP doesn’t care about legal sex or gender identity at work. It’s not about being insensitive or discriminatory but about providing the best possible healthcare.
He acknowledges that he may receive hate for his views, but he stands by his beliefs that knowing his patients’ biological gender is crucial for certain tests and protocols in healthcare.
He hopes that others can understand and respect his perspective as well.
Biological Sex Regardless of Your Gender
Redditors agreed with his confession. One user said, “I was told that anything relating to medical you should always give your biological sex regardless of your gender because of medicine. I tend to agree with the primatologist Frans de Waal, gender is how you present yourself and interact with society, sex is just biology.”
Another user said, “I’ve been to an ER recently that asked gender and biological sex on the intake, so there are some efforts being made. This is an instance of getting in the same book before you can get on the same page.”
What do you think about this man’s confession? Have you been involved in any issues relating to this recently?
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Source: Reddit