Ryan was working as the charge nurse in the ED at V. Beaufort. It was late in the evening and he was also serving as triage nurse. I had walked to the ED to ask him a questions regarding EMTALA. I walked to the triage area and stood at the door, Ryan did not realize I was there. He was assessing a teenage who was seeking treatment for an intentional overdose. This individual's name in the computer was female, but the gender in the computer was male. Ryan picked up that this teenager was managing transgender concerns. In a respectful and professional manner, Ryan let this patient know that he was for clarification purposes, making sure that he had the right chart pulled up and that the information in the chart was correct. Ryan showed the patient the chart that had what would seem like conflicting information based on name and gender. The patient confirmed that the chart Ryan had pulled up was correct. Ryan then respectfully asked if this meant the patient was transitioning genders. I stepped away so as not to invade the patient's privacy but observed the following from afar:

The patient had no one with them to support them during this visit to the ED. Ryan continued the assessment of the patient in a non-biased, non-alarming, as well as courteous manner. Ryan validated and verified that the patient intentionally taken pills for self-harm. Ryan then explained to the patient the process of involuntary commitment, expectations of how long treatment would take, and the patient may board in the ED for a while and would have to be watched at all times due to the suicidal ideations. While everyone coming to our care for any type of treatment deserves compassion and respect, when this case presented itself, Ryan demonstrated a level of professionalism that most would not have been to.

Here a young patient was trying to harm themselves and was trying to transition genders. In rural eastern NC young adults managing transgender issues often have to deal with judgement and unprofessionalism. Luckily, this patient had Ryan as their nurse. Throughout their interaction, Ryan treated the patient in a dignified manner and provided high level of nursing. If this patient, in other settings, had felt the same compassion that Ryan demonstrated maybe the mental health concerns this teenager had would not be quite as challenging. Acceptance is a key component of nursing care and Ryan demonstrates this attribute to all patients in his care.