Table 3.
Patient/Family Survey Free-Text Responses
| Baseline survey | Follow-up survey | |
|---|---|---|
| Positive experiences | “Most of my experience with […] staff has been good.” “Our child always feels welcome.” “Sometimes they slip up on my name but they correct themselves right after and apologize. They're all very nice and I feel comfortable there.” “I was asked IF I wanted to share my experience, which is good because not everyone is comfortable sharing.” |
“Removing the gender marker from the wrist bands has really helped.” “Children's has been wonderful to work with during this emotional and challenging transition” “LGBT staff sharing personal stories with me while discussing things like needles made the experience more comfortable” “Little things go a long way. For example, everyone in the TRUE clinic seems to have a rainbow lanyard for their badges. Those little things are saying, ‘I see you. I accept you.’” “All our experiences have been good. Everyone is open, honest, and willing to go the extra mile […] Thank you for being advocates for our youth.” |
| Negative experiences | “Check in clerk refused to find my child's preferred name, I had to give birth name.” “Since we haven't had a legal name change my child was called by their birth name and gender when we signed in as well as it was on his wrist band. Not what we were hoping for. It was our first appointment […] so nobody was sure what name pronouns we were using. Would be helpful to have that on the intake questionnaire so no mistakes are made like we had.” “Checking in with the ER, there was an issue with the gender marker: they could not find my information because they assumed my gender marker was female, and it made my admittance slow.” “Wrist bands do not communicate name and pronoun preference which possibly the MA is not aware of.” “When checking in I was deadnamed but after my mom corrected her I've never had a problem with it there.” “The person making the appt, and verifying the appt did great and found it under the correct name, but then the check in lady refused to. It stressed my son out, made me very upset when I know she could have done it correctly. It is critical that the preferred name and gender are given, it hurts my child to be as he calls it ‘dead named.’ They need to realize how important this is.” “Because of my body structure and genetics, I look masculine in general, so it is not difficult for someone to assume I am male by my appearance, which is a bit of a blessing. Unfortunately in a hospital setting however, the little wristband you receive at the beginning of any type of visit, displays an F for my gender, when in actuality it should be an M. I have, on multiple occasions, looked into and asked around to see if there was any possible way the hospital database could be updated to display the correct pronoun letter on all of my records, so that perhaps anyone who were to look at them would not be mistaken by my gender marker, and my conflicting appearance.” |
“In pediatric surgery the two women at the front desk were eager and willing to learn; but required ALL the gender education. There were two nurses, an OT, anesthesiologist who were great! There were a couple nurses who couldn't get pronouns or name, it seemed intentional and they didn't respond to correction. The doctor just didn't use any pronouns, he seemed awkward—like did he not know why my kiddo was getting blockers reimplemented?” “I don't understand if you have been introduced to the child as he, and nothing else, how the she pronoun still finds it way in? Is it because of the chart? And why does that seep into the interaction? it happens a lot in the ER when we see lots of different nurses and techs.” “There was also an event that happened a few years ago, when I needed to make a gynecologist appointment for a BV infection, the operator was blatantly very confused and rude that I was trying to do this since I have a masculine voice but I assured her I have a uterus I'm just trans and she kept trying to direct me to the TRUE center instead.” “The nurse that brought us back to prep for the surgery asked my child questions—routine questions asked if she's had her period yet—I think this question should be omitted for our transgender kids—my child is male to female. She answered no and then the nurse mumbled something strange. It was an extremely awkward experience.” |
| Suggestions for improvement | “Man y'all always got the wrong name on that wristband thing. Once a nurse sharpied over it. That was cool.” “I may cringe a bit when someone gets it wrong, but it's not a big deal. Overcorrecting or apologizing just makes it more awkward, so it's not that big a deal.” “…is it possible to not put one's legal name on the wristband they're given?” |
“Automatic texts, which always deadname me.” “Patience is key. It's okay to mess up. Just quickly apologies and move on. You've got this.” “Offer their own pronouns first/and on nametag. […] That asking loud questions about gender in an open waiting room IS a violation of HIPPA and some kids/parents would be outed and/or uncomfortable with this breach.” “To never assume someone's pronouns or gender identity based on looks. It would be nice if staff modeled their pronouns.” “I see my child's confidence decline immediately when she is called by her birth name.” “Using words like ‘pretty or handsome’ can come off very gendered and makes my trans child very uncomfortable.” “When it comes to talking about things that are very dysphoric for patients, it would be better to use hypotheticals, rather than possessive pronouns.” |
BV, bacterial vaginosis; ER, emergency room; HIPAA, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; OT, occupational therapy.