I am a lesbian applying for EM and I was wondering if there are any programs that one might advise me to steer clear from ...or, alternatively, that have a reputation for being LGBT-friendly. Thanks!
Gay/Lesbian Friendly Programs
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Lol...
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Not a lot of places ask about sexual preference, and truthfully not a lot of places will care. You're prob not gonna find much help, other than a bunch of guys telling you to go to their place.😉
I would really try hard to keep your personal life out of your worklife, if possible. Family, friends before you had before med school, boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever....
my 2 cents....
I would really try hard to keep your personal life out of your worklife, if possible. Family, friends before you had before med school, boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever....
my 2 cents....
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Unless you plan on showing up with a crewcut, golf shoes and kiss a girl on the first day, no one will care (or probably even notice.)
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I don't know of any gay/lesbian unfriendly places.
And honestly, just like medical school I don't even know if there is a way to find out (except for obviously very religious based hospital systems).
When I was chief resident, my PD came up to me and said "I have an applicant who is openly gay and asked me if that is an issue.... should it even be an issue I never even thought about it?!" I was stumped too, as I thought most Emergency Physicians would haven't even a second thought at all to sexual preference of an applicant.
Surgery, maybe, but we in EM tend to be pretty laid back and "whatever floats" sort of thinking....
Q
And honestly, just like medical school I don't even know if there is a way to find out (except for obviously very religious based hospital systems).
When I was chief resident, my PD came up to me and said "I have an applicant who is openly gay and asked me if that is an issue.... should it even be an issue I never even thought about it?!" I was stumped too, as I thought most Emergency Physicians would haven't even a second thought at all to sexual preference of an applicant.
Surgery, maybe, but we in EM tend to be pretty laid back and "whatever floats" sort of thinking....
Q
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I can't see this being a problem in any field except maybe Ortho...
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I dont think anybody much cares. Regardless of orientation, the less colleagues/coworkers know about your sex life the better.
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I think finding a L/G friendly hospital and city/state than a program per se, particularly if you have a partner. A classmate of mine went to Colorado (her #1) for residency and, after matching, discovered that the Univ didn't cover domestic partners under the health insurance. Her #2-4 programs all did and she was pretty pissed when she discovered this. Just something to think about when you're looking at places.
So I wasn't really concerned about the interview...or getting along with co-workers (I just asked b because, while I know EM docs are generally pretty liberal about that stuff...I'm from a northern city and occasionally wonder if I'm actually living in a liberal bubble and being naive about what it is like elsewhere)
Regardless, what concerns me more is the suggestion to keep work and personal life separate. I hope and expect that my co-residents will become some of my closest friends. Perhaps the single residents go out together at night, significant others meet each other, and, as with any good friends, residents talk to each other about what is going on in their lives. Maybe I should have been asking which programs tend to have a more sociable group of residents.
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Look at the hospital websites and apply to programs that have active lesbian/gay groups.
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Sorry, I should've clarified things a little better...
Any and all residency classes are a tight knit group. Its how it should be and if you interview at a place where the residents don't really know each other or seem to care, I'd prob stay away from that location. The only other people that you can bitch and complain about residency is... your other residents.😀
The point about keeping your work and personal life separate is mostly with everyone else, i.e. attendings, nurses, techs, off service rotations. Not to say that you shouldn't get to know them, b/c its in your best interest to, but this will limit gossip, rumors, ect ...
I agree with the other posters. No one will care. get good interviews, talk to as many residents as you can, esp the intern class (you will spend 2 years with them..) and go with your gut feeling.
Any and all residency classes are a tight knit group. Its how it should be and if you interview at a place where the residents don't really know each other or seem to care, I'd prob stay away from that location. The only other people that you can bitch and complain about residency is... your other residents.😀
The point about keeping your work and personal life separate is mostly with everyone else, i.e. attendings, nurses, techs, off service rotations. Not to say that you shouldn't get to know them, b/c its in your best interest to, but this will limit gossip, rumors, ect ...
I agree with the other posters. No one will care. get good interviews, talk to as many residents as you can, esp the intern class (you will spend 2 years with them..) and go with your gut feeling.
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im my residency we have 3 gay male residents and 1 gay attending. Tucson has a ton of lesbians in the community while there arent a lot of gay males. If you have other more specific Qs PM me.
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check out rochester ny program. solid training, crazy busy, gay/lesbian friendly program
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Related story: I was in residency with a homosexual colleague (This will sound a little awkward because I trying to avoid disclosing the person's gender. More anonymity is always better.). They did not feel that the program was unfriendly. There was an incident early on that was concerning. During our orientation (no pun intended) they human resources people passed around a list of all the residents and asked us to check and verify the info. This list showed name and who was also listed on your benefits/health insurance. Almost everyone was either "none" or "spouse." Only a handful of people, including my friend, had "DP" for domestic partner. The HR of the hospital bascially outed several residents on the first day of internship. They have since changed the practice. This was a big hospital. I was, and still am, amazed that they could have been so stupid.
blue, I've been wondering the same as of late. Also programs with DP benefits, and a good way to go about asking?
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Good question.
I think the best way to figure this out with the least amount of personal exposure would be to scour the website and written info they give you. You can also call or email the program coordinator and ask where you can get info about the benefits and they'll either send you a packet or refer you to a website.
You could also call the GME office and/or the HR dept at the program and just say you're a residency applicant and ask without revealing your name.
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This is actually the best way. The likelihood that a PC is going to be completely up-to-date on what the institutional and GME policies for coverage of domestic partners is quite small. The GME office OTOH will know the correct answer and the whole thing will be much more anonymous than if you contact the residency program office.
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NYC programs are very gay-friendly, as there are lots of LGBT folk in NYC (and who work as faculty). I think we may win as the gayest residency here at SLR. Flame on. Pun intended.
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Try Jefferson in Philly. When I interviewed there my gaydar went on high alert, defcon 2.
Look, I think you're overanalyzing and overemphasizing your sexual preference. That's like me picking a residency that caters to "heteros". Why on earth should that take any sort of preference in my pursuit of good training? I'm not walking around everyday talking about boning big boobed nurses or passing out the latest hustler magazine to fellow residents. Don't make the mistake of using residency as an opportunity to make a stand for political correctedness. You would be smart to keep your sexual preferences private no matter where where you go and try not to ruffle too many feathers. I feel the same way as a hetero guy. The secret to residency is keeping your nose to the ground and making yourself as small a target as possible. I mean, what exactly is a "gay friendly" residency in the first place? Do you hang out in drag after work with the staff and nurses? Talk about your DP non stop while at work and every topic somehow relates to being gay? Nobody talks like that in any residency. You're going to be too busy being pimp slapped over not knowing kanavel's signs, what RSI meds to use in a crumping gomer, and learning that the easiest way to elicit screams from the renal fellow is to try to correct electrolyte abnormalities in a dialysis patient, ad nauseam.
Look, I think you're overanalyzing and overemphasizing your sexual preference. That's like me picking a residency that caters to "heteros". Why on earth should that take any sort of preference in my pursuit of good training? I'm not walking around everyday talking about boning big boobed nurses or passing out the latest hustler magazine to fellow residents. Don't make the mistake of using residency as an opportunity to make a stand for political correctedness. You would be smart to keep your sexual preferences private no matter where where you go and try not to ruffle too many feathers. I feel the same way as a hetero guy. The secret to residency is keeping your nose to the ground and making yourself as small a target as possible. I mean, what exactly is a "gay friendly" residency in the first place? Do you hang out in drag after work with the staff and nurses? Talk about your DP non stop while at work and every topic somehow relates to being gay? Nobody talks like that in any residency. You're going to be too busy being pimp slapped over not knowing kanavel's signs, what RSI meds to use in a crumping gomer, and learning that the easiest way to elicit screams from the renal fellow is to try to correct electrolyte abnormalities in a dialysis patient, ad nauseam.
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Spot on. If the best thing or most descriptive thing you can say about yourself (or, as TR Knight said, "the most interesting thing about [you]", which he hoped wasn't) is "I'm gay", then you have some issues (which, if you are comfortable in your own skin being gay, should NOT be an issue).
(and, for the Latin snobs, it's "ad nauseam" - it's the ablative case. Search for "agnosium" for some humor.)
The definition of a "gay friendly" program: one that does not have residents who, even sarcastically, ask "do you hang out in drag after work with the staff and nurses?".
There is no way to overemphasize feeling comfortable at work.
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Word. I'm as straight as it gets and I was offended by that post.
To the OP...pick a program in a large city that isn't SLC and you'll be fine. There will be homphobic a-holes everywhere (even NYC and SF). Find a place that feels good to you and forge your way. Your sexuality will likely be the 9th or 10th most important thing on the list of what people use to judge you.
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wow are people really basing their advice on what happened on last week's gray's anatomy? because that show is so realistic.
fwiw i don't think groove meant to insult you but thinking that your work life is completely separate from your home life is somewhat unrealistic. do the straight folks in your program pretend for 3 years that they aren't married because they don't want their sexual preference to ruffle feathers?
to the OP: will being out of the closet help you? probably not. will it hurt you? probably not. if you don't treat it like it's a big deal, others won't treat it like it's a big deal. good luck in the match. you'll be fine.
fwiw i don't think groove meant to insult you but thinking that your work life is completely separate from your home life is somewhat unrealistic. do the straight folks in your program pretend for 3 years that they aren't married because they don't want their sexual preference to ruffle feathers?
to the OP: will being out of the closet help you? probably not. will it hurt you? probably not. if you don't treat it like it's a big deal, others won't treat it like it's a big deal. good luck in the match. you'll be fine.
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Word. You should go to a place that supports you, where you can feel open to introduce your partner (or be single, or with children, or whatever).
I agree with choosing a "liberal" city with good support. I went to med school in the midwest where sexual preference is just not really discussed. Compare that to my program now (Brigham/MGH in Boston) where we have tons of LGBT groups and events, and we have quite a few openly-gay and lesbian residents who always bring partners to events--and who have gotten married and have children etc in residency. I think the level of support and level of perceived "normalcy" in that city makes a big difference.
Best of luck!!
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Hm...Maimonides might not be the gayest EM residency like SLR but I think it's a contender.
There are many openly GLBT attendings, residents, RNs, clerks, and they often bring their date/spouse/partner/children to departmental or social gatherings. The children of the GLBT colleagues play together with the children of straight colleagues and straight colleauges are interested in the lives of GLBT colleagues and ask for updates about their significant other or ask single ones about their love lives. I think that's the definition of a gay-friendly residency, when it is really just people-friendly and treat each other like people.
At Maimo, there have been people of all backgrounds, racially, religiously like Muslims, Mormons..etc and sexual orientation is just one of the backgrounds and people are open-minded at baseline and are interested in each other's differences.
In terms of benefits, domestic partners have full benefits here. In addition, I think Maimo is one of the few hospitals in the country that offer benefits to same-sex domestic partners as well as to opposite-sex domestic partners(basically straight couples not married)
Hope this answers your question. I don't know if what goes on at Maimo is common at other residencies, but if it's not, it should be, or even better.
There are many openly GLBT attendings, residents, RNs, clerks, and they often bring their date/spouse/partner/children to departmental or social gatherings. The children of the GLBT colleagues play together with the children of straight colleagues and straight colleauges are interested in the lives of GLBT colleagues and ask for updates about their significant other or ask single ones about their love lives. I think that's the definition of a gay-friendly residency, when it is really just people-friendly and treat each other like people.
At Maimo, there have been people of all backgrounds, racially, religiously like Muslims, Mormons..etc and sexual orientation is just one of the backgrounds and people are open-minded at baseline and are interested in each other's differences.
In terms of benefits, domestic partners have full benefits here. In addition, I think Maimo is one of the few hospitals in the country that offer benefits to same-sex domestic partners as well as to opposite-sex domestic partners(basically straight couples not married)
Hope this answers your question. I don't know if what goes on at Maimo is common at other residencies, but if it's not, it should be, or even better.
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Just a thought, but perhaps the most "friendly" programs would be located in the most "friendly" communities (i.e. those with a high baseline population of gays and lesbians). Try seeking out these locations and see what programs exist there...
Exactly.
Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, TX has a very GLBTQA friendly environment for EM residents. It's a new program, but the faculty are relatively young, progressive, and very accepting. Houston as a whole is pretty liberal (they even have a lesbian mayor).
!!!Hearsay Warning!!! Take the following with a grain of salt:
I heard a horror story about UT-Houston's administration dismissing the complaints of a med student who heard people called "f*g" by the surgery attending in the ED. The administration said, "that's the world we live in." While this doesn't point directly at the EM program, it would make any GLBTQA person think twice about how the administration would treat him/her should a problem arise.
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OK, now you're too PC here. First there was "G/L", then added the "B", then the "T", then the "Q" - for those of you not up on it, it's "gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, and queer". In other words, it is what seems to cover the whole spectrum of "not heterosexual". As a sidelight, I would think that transsexuals would be separate (and want to be), as their perspective is "I know what I like - I'm just in the wrong body", and, after they transition, they fall out of the spectrum (although there are exceptions - I know a woman whose sister has always liked boys, but also felt wrong, so is now a guy, but still likes guys). As for "queer", I don't know - I think it is for people who "don't like labels" - huh? Finally, for the "A", I don't even know.
I mean, on the flip side, it's heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. There's only a finite number of iterations.
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LGTBQ- there are an infinite number of iterations to sexuality, gender identification, etc. Just like there is for religion, politics or anything else that involves humanity. Queer is not a label for individuals who just want to be different. It is ironically a generic term for those who DONT fit into the LGTB definitions.
Regarding the original post? There is a difference between trying to prove a point and wanting the ability to live ones life without hiding huge chunks. Identifying yourself out of the norm does not equate to coming to work and giving details of your sex life. However, you should be able to go to a social event or say 'my wife,' 'husband', partner whatever, without having it be risky. So, pick cities that have larger communities.. smaller towns and places that don't have open cultures, probably will be reflected in the residency.
And it does still exist. I interviewed an applicant who seriously asked if 'everyone in SF is gay.' Clearly, he was not going to choose to be in a place that didn't reflect his values. Discrimination still exists, residency is hard and there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to choose a place that isn't going to isolate you for something like your sexuality.
Regarding the original post? There is a difference between trying to prove a point and wanting the ability to live ones life without hiding huge chunks. Identifying yourself out of the norm does not equate to coming to work and giving details of your sex life. However, you should be able to go to a social event or say 'my wife,' 'husband', partner whatever, without having it be risky. So, pick cities that have larger communities.. smaller towns and places that don't have open cultures, probably will be reflected in the residency.
And it does still exist. I interviewed an applicant who seriously asked if 'everyone in SF is gay.' Clearly, he was not going to choose to be in a place that didn't reflect his values. Discrimination still exists, residency is hard and there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to choose a place that isn't going to isolate you for something like your sexuality.
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Last I heard its LGBTQA for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning, and Allied
Thank you Law and Order.
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But therein lies the rub: first, strict heterosexuals don't fit into the LGBT paradigm, but, if you said a straight person was queer, that would fail prima facie. However, I'm being a bit pedantic there. Then, who does NOT fit hetero/LGBT? That which you are left are paraphilias and people who can only have relations in a group (3 or more) environment, to the exclusion of 2-person groupings. I mean, can a person who identifies as "queer" deny being homosexual or bisexual?
(And I do hold that this is relevant to medicine, as we see people from all walks of life, and should strive to be culturally aware.)
Edit: This entry left me confused and definitely not clearer to an idea.
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LGBTQIAA? (you can replace the question mark with another Q)
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transexual/transvestite/trans, queer, intersex, asexual, ally, questioning. I'm probably missing a few too, since you can fit a whole alphabet soup in there if you want to include all the really small groups that people self-identify with. No matter, none of those should have much to do with your conduct at work, though at the very least my school's education about how to deal with patients who identify that was is lacking at best.
