PMX Week is all about celebrating the all-star staff who work hard every day to ensure an excellent experience, not only for patients and their families, but for their colleagues, too. Vital to creating that positive experience is maintaining a respectful, supportive, and inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ staff members, which made recognizing National Coming Out Day (NCOD) the perfect tee-up event for PMX Week!
Since the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, NCOD has celebrated the act of coming out and openly sharing one’s sexual and gender identities to combat ignorance and discrimination and to affirm the lives, worth, and dignity of the LGBTQ+ community. This year, PAH, HUP, and PPMC organized panel discussions led by out LGBTQ+ staff members interested in sharing their experiences coming out and navigating the challenges of the workplace, and ways in which their peers can become more effective allies.
“While we continue to focus on patient satisfaction and increased health care access, Penn is also focusing on how we can support employees,” said Rosemary Thomas, MPH, CHES, director of operations of the Penn Medicine Health Equity Initiative, and associate director of the Program for LGBT Health. “A 2018 study by the Human Rights Campaign found 46 percent of LGBTQ+ workers nationwide are still not ‘out’ at work, and 53 percent report hearing jokes about LGBTQ+ people in the workplace. But having an inclusive work climate has positive implications for retention and performance, and for the first time, Penn Medicine is celebrating NCOD to affirm our commitment to maintaining a diverse and supportive environment for our LGBTQ+ employees.”
PAH’s panel included a diverse lineup of staff from different backgrounds and different areas of the hospital. Some takeaways from their discussion about how we can all create a better work environment included asking co-workers and patients how they would like to be referred to and sticking to the names and pronouns they ask for; listening to LGBTQ+ experiences rather than making assumptions based on appearance, personality, behaviors; and joining Penn Pride, an employee resource group for LGBTQ+ employees and allies.
Thank you to Tanya Carmichael, MSN, RN, RNC-OB, RNC-BC, director of Nursing Education, Gina Cavalli, RN, MSN, CNML, program manager of Cardiac Rehab, Steven J. Ralston, MD, chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David S. Weinstein, MS, director of Practice Operations for Family Medicine and General Internal Medicine, social workers Stephanie Chando, MSW, LSW, MEd, and Deborah Klosinski, LCSW, and nurses Andrew Carroll, RN, Kevin Kimbrell, RN, and Owain P. Wilde, BSN, RN, for sharing their perspectives and fostering this interesting and important conversation!