UK Physios

Did anyone contribute towards that consultation about adopting a definition of transphobia?

I opened the email bulletin today and found Jack's smug face staring back at me 🙄

"For example, a former patient had lots of housing problems. He had also been sexually assaulted by his partner. But I had the information as a queer person about how to get him housed: that wasn’t me as a physio doing that, that was me as a fellow gay man.

The only humane response was to be a gay man in that situation, not to be a physio in that situation. Literally, by that evening, he had a bed. That is because I’m queer and active in the community."

How ridiculous.

Either this was a person acting in their own personal capacity to respond with empathy and understanding to a fellow human being in crisis (more power to JH's elbow)..........
OR, as a professional, he had no business intervening without taking a detailed physical and mental health history.

If he is responding as a gay man active in his community, why on earth is that brought into work?
Does he want a round of applause at work, for doing what any decent person would have done?

Lots of things I have done in my personal life might get a clap on the back from my fellow professionals...but I am never going to be writing about it in my professional magazine, nor talking about it at work.

Seriously, if I was supervising this young man, I would be suggesting that there was some work to be done on his boundaries and professional attitudes.

I think he means he knows of gay support networks and got the patient in touch with those. There are charities that support LGBT homeless and offer hostels for the night etc

I would know how to get a patient with insecure housing sorted, why is this BASIC SKILL got anything to do with sexuality?

However, JH doesn't explain HOW he solved the patient's crisis. Makes me wonder whether JH took this patient to his own home.

"For example, a former patient had lots of housing problems. He had also been sexually assaulted by his partner. But I had the information as a queer person about how to get him housed: that wasn’t me as a physio doing that, that was me as a fellow gay man.

The only humane response was to be a gay man in that situation, not to be a physio in that situation. Literally, by that evening, he had a bed. That is because I’m queer and active in the community."

I'm being served high laced leather boot adverts. At least its not handcuffs and dungeons 😂😂😂

I remember when gay and lesbian colleagues had to keep their sexuality hidden and it's wonderful that this is no longer necessary. However, J seems to be of the view that he is special with his misogynistic and leather views. Would it be appropriate to tell patients if you were into swinging, dogging or domination? All legal I believe but would it be highly unprofessional and weird. And how would J know, if he met me whether I was into something niche or nor, would he need to know and would I want him to think about me in a Frank Bough dungeon, no I would not 😆😆😂

Calyx I couldn't get past the picture to read the article, as my eyes were rolling so hard.
However, I work with the prime population that leads to a non-binary or trans identity (being careful w my language here) and that is not my experience at all.

Christ, and this from RCN today https://www.rcn.org.uk/magazines/Opinion/2022/May/Conversations-about-gender-and-pronouns-are-vital-to-patient-care

By a nurse who previously won a diversity and inclusion award for raising awareness of the importance of pronouns https://www.rcn.org.uk/magazines/Opinion/2022/May/Conversations-about-gender-and-pronouns-are-vital-to-patient-care

I'm also pretty sure that not every LGBT physio feels the same way as Jack. You shouldn't have to hide your sexuality in the workplace or put up with micro or major aggressions but that's a different issue. There's never any need to broadcast your fetish in a professional environment!

Yup tony.
The sneer at the box of professionalism 🙄as if one were better than that- it's there to protect the patient and the clinician.
Unfortunately, the helping professions including fire and police, and ambulance, attract people who use the patient/client to validate their own needs. We have to be super alert to it (particularly in a psychotherapeutic type setting...transferance anyone?).

THE PATIENT IS NOT HERE AS A SUPPLY FOR THE CLINICIAN. end of

I absolutely agree.
In my mind this is the 'box of professionalism' that he was so dismissive of. It is being that blank canvas, being neutral, having boundaries, holding the therapeutic space for the patient. Because that is what we are here for, not some kind of self publicity exercise.

I agree, @HilarysMantelpiece

This person needs some training to improve his core skills.

I am astonished that he is being given a platform in the way he is. If he was on my staff I'd be concerned about his basic ability to do an assessment and certainly wouldn't trust him to speak, even to do a staff in service. I'd ask his line manager to do audit his notes and then gently suggest a bit less self expression might be useful.

I wouldn't be allowing this.

Sorry to be hogging the thread, but this is absolute bllcks.

I am extremely professional in my interactions and I know from feedback that the one thing my patients really value is that they feel they can be themselves regardless of their religion, sexual-orientation, nationality, country of origin, learning capacity, disability, presence or absence of limbs/scarring/trauma-responses etc etc etc ad infinitum.

Any failure of rapport is an error on the part of the clinician, not the client.

If I, as a clinician, display overt signals of my sexual orientation/ religion/ politics etc etc etc then I risk alienating the client.... and that is on me.
I need to be a blank, empathetic canvas on which they can project their own fears, worries, concerns, pain, distress ...knowing that I can safely carry it without bringing any of my own issues into it.

I am really really quite annoyed that this crap infects Physiotherapy, Educational Psychology, Occupational Therapy, Speech & Language Therapy.

Not a physio, but I am amazed at this idea that the patient wants to engage with the physio as themselves/their whole self. The opposite is often true, and depending on the patient's character/age esp in relation to the physio involved/etc this approach would be detrimental to the treatment and potentially excluding of the patient. Physio treatment can easily make a patient feel exposed - both physically and psychologically - embarrassed, etc. Many patients will need distance between them and the professional, in order to concentrate on the treatment and keep some feeling of bodily and personal separateness/integrity.

Where on earth do they get the evidence for their assertions? How are they collecting this information from the patient group?

@tonybasil yes I’m not psychiatrist but this person is unable to see that it’s not about him