Defending Gender Expansive Patients

Description

Individuals who are gender-diverse face significant barriers to healthcare: fear and mistrust of healthcare providers, limited insurance coverage, and limited access to providers and facilities trained and equipped to provide competent care. Political policy on the state and national level restrict or prohibit evidence-based options for gender-affirming care. The health system in the United States often fails to include gender-expansive folks in research and provision of evidence-based care. In this webinar, we will examine how nurses can embrace their roles as social justice advocates for transgender patients, standing at the intersection of healthcare, human rights, and equity. This session will provide practical tools for nurses to advocate for a population often excluded from full access to care.

This session will equip nurses with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to stand up for the right to evidence-based, gender-affirming care; advocate for policy change; and provide culturally and trauma-informed care. Attendees will learn what laws protect or restrict gender-affirming care, recognize their own role in advocacy, and gain tools for becoming powerful allies in the ongoing effort to advance health in the transgender population. This session is designed for nurses at all levels who are committed to making a difference in their communities by ensuring that every patient, regardless of gender, receives the best possible care.

Learning Objectives

-Gain insight into the experience of gender diverse patients accessing health care, drawn from the 2025 US Trans Survey.

-Demonstrate general understanding of the current legal and political landscape for accessing trans healthcare, including how to stay up to date and challenge misinformation.

-Identify strategies to advocate for gender diverse patients in clinical settings, with insurance coverage of transition related services, and by protecting access to care with robust institutional policies.

Course Content