Pronoun Pins
I think having pronoun pins available to medical students normalizes discussions of gender, and helps normalize it as part of medical education. To me, the importance of a pronoun pin, especially when you are a medical student, is it's a very subtle way to help your patients feel safe. It gives you a way to signal to your patients that you are comfortable with those discussions, and that this is a space where gender can be discussed in an inclusive way. I think modeling is a really good idea. Of course, you have to learn how to interact because there will be patients who don't know what you're talking about, or who are offended by it and you have to learn how to navigate those conversations as well, so that you can protect your patients who need it. I think that existing in a way where you're not hiding who you are is helpful. So, I am going to wear my pronoun pin; I'm going to ask for my patients pronouns, and I think that in and of itself is helpful.
Building Community
As president, I am most proud of the Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil. I think it created a connection between the MSPA and the greater queer community in Portland and Southern Maine. I also think we managed to tackle it in a creative way with the t-shirts. I felt it was really important, and it felt like something that I really wanted to make sure happened. I hope that it continues.
Queering Professionalism
Fundamentally, queer is really good at looking at what the actual boundaries are. Which are important and which ones are not? Important boundaries are boundaries that keep people safe. Is the fact that I'm queer violating that boundary? No. So I think that that's always the question we should keep in mind is what professional boundaries are important. What are they accomplishing? I don't think I'm going to get into a conversation with all of my patients where I explicitly tell them I'm queer, because that's not part of a professional relationship with a lot of those patients. If I have a queer patient, and it comes up, I'm going to tell them because I don't think that that's a violation of any boundary to tell them who I am. That's the thing with professionalism. Yes, professional boundaries are important. They should be there to keep people safe, not to keep people normal, not to keep people in a certain category. People sometimes think that if you are open about an identity, you're pushing it on them or if you bring up a conversation about queer issues, that that's unprofessional, because you're forcing it into the space where it's inappropriate, right? However, I would say that queer issues are appropriate to every space. Of course there are times to have conversations and times not have conversations, but that's not a matter of professionalism.