Sex and Gender are NOT the fucking same!

[ScaredMyBossMightBeOnMN]

I am aware of an incident at my work where a patient attended for a Bone scan.
Male and female bone density is different, particularly after the menopause, and there is a Male referral form and a Female one.

A patient was referred on the Male referral form with all markers on their health records referring to them as Male. The patient did not volunteer the information that they were born female but did say that they were on testosterone injections.

It was noted after they had gone home that somewhere in the notes it referenced that they were transgender and were contacted to confirm this and asses their pregnancy status. Their scan results then had to recalibrated using female bone density values.

Every indicator of a Patient’s sex in their medical records is actually their ‘gender identity’ not sex, even though it actually states Patient Sex.

It’s bloody madness as blood values are different as well. I feel complicit in this nonsense but am too scared to challenge.

I know the answer to this situation is that the radiographers will be admonished for not being ‘inclusive’ and will have to check the pregnancy status of all male patients in future, as they have previously been advised to do.

The logical solution would be for us to record both sex AND gender of patients.They could be referred to and accommodated, according to their gender identity but receive appropriate clinical care for their sex.

Reminds me of seeing the transwoman who sent in a DNA sample to 23andme. It came back with a Y chromosome in the results. (I know. Duh. ...) The post was the transwoman being indignant that they weren't inclusive or some such, and what did one have to do to get a proper gene scan around here?

Some things, you're just dumbstruck. Like Feynman said, they're so far away from getting it, they're not even wrong.

I agree.
The questions should be -

1. Sex - M/F?
2. Are you taking cross-sex hormones/medication?

Because those are the clinically important factors. The identity doesn't matter a jot.

😂

That’s my point!

A patient referral to our NHS trust comes in from the GP, as was the case with the bone scan patient wit the patient’s ‘sex’ already completed, we then register them on our patient administration system where information is shared on the National Spine.

The patient is thereafter described as being of that sex, it’s only considered of relevance when under talking radiology procedures when pregnancy status needs to established. No one is required to check before doing a blood test or allocating a patient a bed on a ward.

Or when he last had a smear or that he needs a mammogram?

If a patient volunteers the information I can enable their privacy and dignity and others is maintained. Like ensuring the female changing room was empty before showing a 6 foot 4 TIM where to change.

If I could see that the sex and gender were different it could avoid embarrassing the trans individual as we’d just know.

I think it’s even worse than that, OP. I have autoimmune conditions and I occasionally read around for research papers. Almost invariably the scientists write “gender” when they mean “sex”. That sometimes gives the literal implication that if I self-identified into the opposite sex, my risk factors would change.

Sex is genuinely important for healthcare purposes.

Gender is as relevant as star signs or MyersBriggs profiles. I.e. not at all.

We are being governed by clowns

Exactly, it's misleading. Unfortunately I'm certain that if they wrote "sex" the papers would all be rejected.
As I mentioned upthread, any data they use from the Department of Health uses only gender, not sex. So they have to say gender anyway - sex isn't recorded.

Good. Men being annoyed by this is the only way this shit will ever change.

Absolutely true. I'm disappointed with the medical profession though. If the senior doctors had all stood together at the beginning and said no, we wouldn't be in this situation.

It shows Hanlon's razor doesn't really apply, doesn't it? Both malevolence and stupidity are at play here.

I honestly think that when it comes to serious issues like health care, sex trumps gender every time. It's just common sense.
My sex is down as female on my NHS record. But if, for example, I'm asked my gender on a form for a holiday I'm booking, then I'll put male or, on the rare occasion I see it, transgender male.
I have also not changed the gender marker on my drivers license because if I were missing and found hurt, it could help save my life (unless of course, I'm naked and then my sex will be quite apparent).

I wish I could remember or come up with this sort of thing. "I have had unprotected sex every now and then with my wife, do you think I should do a pregnancy test?" Even if I was female, I'd be a bit past getting pregnant. A pregnant woman my age would be in all the papers. And a pregnant man ...

I've just had a survey from the Passport Office, which asked my gender. I replied:

I am male, I don't have a gender identity, I'm just a male.

I was probably pissing in the wind, of course - and I couldn't screen shot the entire box.