Safety in a fluid future: Creating emotionally safe, gender affirming pediatric emergency rooms for transgender and gender nonconforming children and youth

Recent research has discovered a commonality amongst emergency rooms throughout North America: a lack of gender affirming care for children and youth who identify as transgender or gender nonconforming. From incorrect pronouns to inappropriate questions and actions from the medical team, pediatric emergency rooms are often emotionally unsafe. Child life specialists practicing in pediatric emergency rooms have a responsibility to enact change to provide safe spaces for this marginalized population.

1.0 PDU

SUGGESTED DOMAIN: DEI

Objectives:

• Upon completion, participants will understand key terms associated with transgender and gender non-conforming identities as well as describe prior research and findings on care in emergency rooms.
• Upon completion, participants will have acquired practical skills that can be utilized in their professional practice in order to create safe, gender affirming interactions.
• Upon completion, participants will be equipped with tangible actions to encourage systemic change within pediatric emergency rooms.