Transgender & future DPT

[charlotter]

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Hi all. I've been debating whether to post this question for the two years I've been on SDN. Anyway, I'm agender and use they/them pronouns (I was assigned female at birth and have not taken hormones or had surgery, nor do I plan to). I've been working incredibly hard to prepare to apply for PT school (planning on applying during the 2017-2018 cycle). I feel like my only options are:

1. Having to be in the closet during applications, interviews, and PT school & thus be misgendered and miserable throughout the whole process.

2. Risk being out, tell schools when I'm applying that I'm agender (I don't even know how I'd go about that), and hope that it doesn't negatively affect me. And hope that my classmates, professors, peers, etc. would all respect that and use the correct name and pronouns for me.

Has anyone else experienced this? Or have any thoughts? It gives me a great deal of anxiety to think about. I know that I can't legally be discriminated against during applications or in school, but that doesn't mean that people will respect me if they do know.

**EDIT: There are already helpful replies to this thread but I welcome any additional responses. Thank you all for taking the time to talk me through this.

 

[FutureDPT10]

Today, APTA just released a bunch of information regarding working with transgender patients. The PT community is highly interested in giving the utmost respect and service to patients who are transgender. That being said, I think the PT world would be truly blessed to have you working in the community. With your personal experiences and ideas on the transgender community and how you believe transgender patients should be worked with, you would be a great asset to our community on their new efforts to make everything as comfortable and helpful for each and every patients specific needs. I would read up on some articles regarding this topic, and perhaps use this in your essay to explain your situation while answering the essays prompt. I would love to hear more about your process and how everything goes and I believe the majority of people will love to have you as part of the PT community. Be yourself! You will always encounter people who do not see eye to eye and have very closed ideas, but you will meet many more who will embrace each and every persons unique traits and diverse ideas. Nothing makes medical professions stronger than diversity, compassion, and understanding.

 

[NJ DPT HOPEFUL]

I don't see how any of that would have anything to do with pt interviews. You go. You answer questions. If your numbers and interview are better than other candidates then you'll be fine. If not then you won't.

As per your classmates. If one of my classmates asked something like that I don't think it would be an issue. I'm much more concerned with a muscles OINA than I am what my classmate identifies as

 

[DPThopeful1859]

I totally understand how you feel! I identify as lesbian, but sometimes people mistake me as a boy due to how I look (short haircut, more masculine clothing, even though my boobs should be a big identifier!).
Honestly, I would choose to look into schools that aren't super religiously affiliated, but you may be surprised. I'm actually on a waiting list right now for a private university that is Baptist and they made me feel incredibly comfortable, not only being there, but by how they treated me before and during the interview process. AND a lesbian who's in the program took our group on a tour of the campus during our visit, which made me feel even better!
I think the most important thing is to let your personality SHINE during the interview if you get the opportunity. If you are granted a spot in a program, then I would probably elaborate more so on who you are and what you prefer to be called or how you identify once you gain admittance, considering these are about to be people you spend 3 years of your life with. PT school is competitive (Trust me, I've been trying for over 6 years). You will find a lot of schools care about numbers (GPA,GRE) and others may put more emphasis on personality, but you'll never know until you're there. I know it's frustrating to still have fear that someone might discriminate against you (since we are in 2016 now, not the damn 1960's), but I would focus more on being YOU. If you feel comfortable presenting more male than female or vice versa, do it. Show your personality and show them you deserve to be there

 

[FutureDPT10]

I don't see how any of that would have anything to do with pt interviews. You go. You answer questions. If your numbers and interview are better than other candidates then you'll be fine. If not then you won't.

As per your classmates. If one of my classmates asked something like that I don't think it would be an issue. I'm much more concerned with a muscles OINA than I am what my classmate identifies as

Unfortunately the medical insurance community has been very hard on those who are transgender. They don't allow them to be covered for care due to being transgender. This has been a huge issue for insurance companies and negatively effects those in the medical field. Many clinicians see transgender patients as something outside their realm of knowledge and don't feel comfortable working when they themselves aren't sure how to make the patient feel 100% in their care with full trust. 70% of transgender patients have been a part of gender discrimination where they have been blamed for their health issues by medical practitioners. So the hesitation this member has is highly reasonable, especially in a medical field. Luckily times are changing and I believe there will be classes in the future on how to work with these different communities so that we can provide the utmost care for transgender patients. APTA has already shown great care for helping make transgender patients feel comfortable and I think hat will greatly increase since we have been able to identify the problem. I think that's why this member will serve as a great asset and may be able to implement programs in the future to teach those practioners who would like to learn more about helping these patients feel safe and trusting of the PT field.

 

[smq123]

Hi all. I've been debating whether to post this question for the two years I've been on SDN. Anyway, I'm agender and use they/them pronouns (I was assigned female at birth and have not taken hormones or had surgery, nor do I plan to). I've been working incredibly hard to prepare to apply for PT school (planning on applying during the 2017-2018 cycle). I feel like my only options are:

1. Having to be in the closet during applications, interviews, and PT school & thus be misgendered and miserable throughout the whole process.

2. Risk being out, tell schools when I'm applying that I'm agender (I don't even know how I'd go about that), and hope that it doesn't negatively affect me. And hope that my classmates, professors, peers, etc. would all respect that and use the correct name and pronouns for me.

Has anyone else experienced this? Or have any thoughts? It gives me a great deal of anxiety to think about. I know that I can't legally be discriminated against during applications or in school, but that doesn't mean that people will respect me if they do know.

SDN actually started a new LGBTQI forum: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forums/lgbtq.1094/. Maybe not a bad place to check out. Most of the FAQs in this brand-new forum are geared towards pre-meds and med students, but may still help answer your questions.

Good luck.

 

[charlotter]

I think the PT world would be truly blessed to have you working in the community. With your personal experiences and ideas on the transgender community and how you believe transgender patients should be worked with, you would be a great asset to our community on their new efforts to make everything as comfortable and helpful for each and every patients specific needs. I would read up on some articles regarding this topic, and perhaps use this in your essay to explain your situation while answering the essays prompt. I would love to hear more about your process and how everything goes and I believe the majority of people will love to have you as part of the PT community. Be yourself!

Okay -- your response made me tear up. Thank you! I have never even considered including my trans identity in my essay. But now I can already start imagining how I would incorporate it. Thank you, thank you, thank you. The relief I feel just from this one message is immense.

Unfortunately the medical insurance community has been very hard on those who are transgender. They don't allow them to be covered for care due to being transgender. This has been a huge issue for insurance companies and negatively effects those in the medical field. Many clinicians see transgender patients as something outside their realm of knowledge and don't feel comfortable working when they themselves aren't sure how to make the patient feel 100% in their care with full trust. 70% of transgender patients have been a part of gender discrimination where they have been blamed for their health issues by medical practitioners. So the hesitation this member has is highly reasonable, especially in a medical field. Luckily times are changing and I believe there will be classes in the future on how to work with these different communities so that we can provide the utmost care for transgender patients. APTA has already shown great care for helping make transgender patients feel comfortable and I think hat will greatly increase since we have been able to identify the problem. I think that's why this member will serve as a great asset and may be able to implement programs in the future to teach those practioners who would like to learn more about helping these patients feel safe and trusting of the PT field.

This is so true. It sucks that people don't understand that identity is SO important and it always plays into your experiences. Going into the field of PT as a cisgender man is completely different than going into the field as a cisgender woman. So being trans is also going to be different. But like you said, hopefully I can help make PT more accessible for other trans people. Thank you for your response!

SDN actually started a new LGBTQI forum: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forums/lgbtq.1094/. Maybe not a bad place to check out. Most of the FAQs in this brand-new forum are geared towards pre-meds and med students, but may still help answer your questions.

Had no idea this exists but thank you! Good resource.

 

[liftthingsupanddown]

I'm a cisgender guy, so I have no insight as to whether you should choose "option 1" or "option 2," but I'm curious what geographic region you're in? I live in Tennessee and work full-time in an outpatient clinic and spend a LOT of time just talking to patients as they go through their exercises. Although we get a few closed-minded folks (I've seen a handful of confederate flag tattoos -but even some of those folks are shifting their attitudes), for the most part it seems like everyone is adapting and changing. We're dealing with a legal battle here about transgender bathroom usage, and 9/10 patients seem to understand that gender is not always matched to sex -it may not seem like much but this is coming from 80 year old Southern white men who've voted Republican their whole lives.

I think as long as you are patient with the patients, the majority should respond either neutrally or well. As for teachers and peers, I'd imagine that people who are worth respecting will respect you.

 

[NJ DPT HOPEFUL]

I think in dealing with a patient it should be "hi my name is ____ and I'm going to be your therapist" the personal life and values of the PT or pt don't have any clinical significance and shouldn't be an issue.

I also believe that religion and politics have no place in a professional setting. Do a good job as a PT. That is what is important in this field

 

[cyclingkayaker88]

Hi all. I've been debating whether to post this question for the two years I've been on SDN. Anyway, I'm agender and use they/them pronouns (I was assigned female at birth and have not taken hormones or had surgery, nor do I plan to). I've been working incredibly hard to prepare to apply for PT school (planning on applying during the 2017-2018 cycle). I feel like my only options are:

1. Having to be in the closet during applications, interviews, and PT school & thus be misgendered and miserable throughout the whole process.

2. Risk being out, tell schools when I'm applying that I'm agender (I don't even know how I'd go about that), and hope that it doesn't negatively affect me. And hope that my classmates, professors, peers, etc. would all respect that and use the correct name and pronouns for me.

Has anyone else experienced this? Or have any thoughts? It gives me a great deal of anxiety to think about. I know that I can't legally be discriminated against during applications or in school, but that doesn't mean that people will respect me if they do know.

**EDIT: There are already helpful replies to this thread but I welcome any additional responses. Thank you all for taking the time to talk me through this.

Hey Charlotter,

Aww, it's great to see what AMAZING support you have received on here. FIRST of all, as you know - applying to PT school is *not* a walk in the park. Congrats on that! Second, being any sort of the "minority" can put anyone on nerves in the interview-admission process. How has the process been for you - now that it is mid-February? I hope that it has been going well for you.

I self-identify as a transgender male. I did decide to come out during one of my interviews for fear that the school's culture might clash with my identity. Long story short, I started this past summer at this-said school(2016), did very well in all of my classes, but one - so I have been taking this year to rebuild myself and start fresh this summer. (Biomechanics and I will reconvene,ha!) Nevertheless, the faculty has been very supportive - as well as the student body. I am not out to everyone within the school but a handful of people or so.

My experience is different as I have been on testosterone a little over 2 years and had top surgery (aka pass as male quite easily). Alas, we do work on each other in PT School. I have been able to get away with keeping my shirt on - partly due to the scars healing and my own self-consciousness, but that may not last long. I have been involved in a Transgender Support Group that is located within my community for the 2 years I have been out (and am still involved) and have heard several people talk who identify as gender-neutral. Some of them are students and struggle to a) come out to others as gender-neutral and b) find ways to hold others to using the correct pronoun. I have a LOT more I could say in this message, but in a nutshell - "We" meaning we, current trans individuals, are pioneers - we are creating safer times for children and the future children of this world by doing what we do.

--Especially within healthcare - where health professionals have to get personal and close with their patients. It is not easy. My heart rate still accelerates when I have to expose some part of my scars/hips. As you start to challenge yourself more by telling others your preferred pronouns, it truly does get easier. People will not always understand, but they will want to respect you and make you feel comfortable. The reality is - we do not need to change...we just need the world and our country to be a little more accommodating to make others feel safe and valued. How else will they know...if we don't speak up?

Feel free to message me if you have any questions, or want to share thoughts.
I hope your journey applying to PT schools has been a good and exciting experience for you!