LGBTQIA+ Hospitalists Find Their Comfort Zones

Hospitalists who are part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other (LGBTQIA+) community have had an array of experiences, both in medical school and professionally, related to their personal identity. While many see real progress and describe their workplace as welcoming, these same hospitalists have had previous struggles with fitting in. Some find themselves still fielding unusual comments from colleagues, which they dodge with humor or sincere curiosity. The Hospitalist recently spoke with five hospitalists who shared more about their challenges and opportunities as members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Dr. Chua Ian Chua, MD, (he/him) is a pediatric hospitalist, assistant professor of pediatrics at Stanford Children’s Health in Palo Alto, Calif. and Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and co-chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics section on hospital medicine, LGBTQIA subcommittee. Dr. Chua sees himself in an interesting role, being gay and an Asian immigrant (originally from the Philippines). “Because of the collective challenges that you carry from being an immigrant and in the gay community, it makes you more receptive and sensitive to others in terms of how to get them to open up more,” said Dr. Chua, who spends his time about 50/50 between his two hospitals on the west and east coasts. With patients, being gay sometimes provides a safe area where they can share themselves more, whether it’s a teen...
Source: The Hospitalist - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Career Diversity in Medicine LGBTQIA Source Type: research