For one subject this week we are talking about sexuality. In preparation I've just read an article about how to take a patient's sexual history. It had never crossed my mind that this would be part of our nursing training, but of course it should be.
Thinking about this led me to consider what should be uppermost in my mind whenever I meet a new patient. Clearly each person is an individual with unique characteristics. Equally, they are going to confound my expectations and pre-conceived ideas. So what is it that every single patient has in common? I suspect it's something along these lines: every person will want to be accepted for who they are.
In addition to learning about sexual history taking, I read about people who are born as neither male nor female (physically). Here is a stark reminder that I don't know a single thing about what people are really like behind the exterior they present to the world. Clearly this calls for an attitude of deep compassion towards all the patients I will meet as a nurse. I don't know what life is like from anyone else's point of view, and therefore I have no right to judge anyone. Now, where have I heard that before?
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