beware of twilight, no not the movie

[GingerLeigh]

For those of you that are still in the closet, beware of minor medical procedures that require the hypnotic anaethstetic "twilight". Some time ago I went to the local hospital for a procedure. Well, not that I remember it, I was talking to the nursing staff during the whole procedure and guess what I was discussing... GASP! right, my crossdressing habits. I found out only through some co-workers who have been spreading rumours at work. Turns out they are family of some of the nurses and they like to gossip!
I've been under suspicion at work for some time now. I've even lost friends over this. Mind you, nobody has had the courage to confront me with it. Seems as though everyone is afraid to say anything to me about it. My car has been keyed, tire slashed, "I'm GAY" written in the dust on my trunk and I even had a bra stuck to the front of my licence plate. Not all at the same time, but over the course of several years.
It's been a real challenge to maintain my dignity, let alone my secrecy.

So much for the hypocratic oath!


Ginger

[Tonya Stolenski]

i would consult with the chief of medicine at your hospital, like you said, there are rules to that line of work.. even if you have already been outed make a wrong into a right and say something aqbout it,,, dosent matter what you said, they shoud not have repeated it...

[Carroll]

If they repeated, and you can prove, and depending on where you live, you can sue them. I was going to mention HIPPA laws, but they were enacted a few years ago

[JulieK1980]

That is illegal. Plain and simple, patient confidentiality is a VERY big deal. Hire a lawyer, and you'll make a fortune, and the nurses will lose their license. Any and all information regarding a patient is confidential, unless its a criminal matter.

Also note its been illegal since the patient privacy act of 1978.

I'm very sorry to hear that you encountered such unprofessional behavior.

[Jamie48]

I agree with Jody, this is unthinkable.

[VanessaVW]

For those of you that are still in the closet, beware of minor medical procedures that require the hypnotic anaethstetic "twilight". Some time ago I went to the local hospital for a procedure. Well, not that I remember it, I was talking to the nursing staff during the whole procedure and guess what I was discussing... GASP! right, my crossdressing habits. I found out only through some co-workers who have been spreading rumours at work. Turns out they are family of some of the nurses and they like to gossip!
I've been under suspicion at work for some time now. I've even lost friends over this. Mind you, nobody has had the courage to confront me with it. Seems as though everyone is afraid to say anything to me about it. My car has been keyed, tire slashed, "I'm GAY" written in the dust on my trunk and I even had a bra stuck to the front of my licence plate. Not all at the same time, but over the course of several years.
It's been a real challenge to maintain my dignity, let alone my secrecy.

So much for the hypocratic oath!


Ginger

Ginger,

These are clearly hate crimes and they didn't seem to have your best interests at heart. Instead, they have found something to have fun with at your expense. Your habits are not criminal at all (heck, I see nothing at all wrong with it.) Their habits have resulted in you being treated as less of a person. Shame on them.

Vanessa

[Traci Elizabeth]

Did the bra fit?

Like other's have said it is very unfortunate in deed. But it is also almost impossible to prove any of this and if you trued to do anything civilly, it would probably cost you dearly financially even through the burden of proof is less in civil law.

[jenifer m.]

i wish i could catch someone doing any thing to my car or call me gay to my face,all i can say is they would wish they diddnt.i hope you get some resolve from your bad experiences.

[mklinden2010]

I'd look in the eyes of every person I knew - one person at a time - and start with the "biggie" that everyone gets beat up with:

"Would it be any of your business, anybody's business, if I were gay?"

It a fair topic of conversation. It's just a question... You'll learn more about what's bugging you by turning over that log and dealing with the bugs underneath it than you will by ignoring it.

You're being ****ed on by someone and this is a good way to weed out the ****ers, and, a good way to muster support for being left the **** alone.

You no longer have a secret. You have a pest bothering you. Deal with the issue and then see if they have the guts to deal with you.

This has nothing to do with fairness or niceness; this has everything to do with someone trying to break you down.

Stand up and bark back.

You have nothing left to lose and it will do you good.

[Hope]

I'd look in the eyes of every person I knew - one person at a time - and start with the "biggie" that everyone gets beat up with:

"Would it be any of your business, anybody's business, if I were gay?"

It a fair topic of conversation. It's just a question... You'll learn more about what's bugging you by turning over that log and dealing with the bugs underneath it than you will by ignoring it.

You're being ****ed on by someone and this is a good way to weed out the ****ers, and, a good way to muster support for being left the **** alone.

You no longer have a secret. You have a pest bothering you. Deal with the issue and then see if they have the guts to deal with you.

This has nothing to do with fairness or niceness; this has everything to do with someone trying to break you down.

Stand up and bark back.

You have nothing left to lose and it will do you good.

Yeah - I can get behind about 90% of this. Get the issue out in the open, be in control of it, don't let it be this stupid passive aggressive thing.

Stand up for yourself.

You have already been outed, so you might as well be out and enjoy the benefits. People can't make fun of you if you aren't ashamed of what you are doing. Well, they can still make lame comments, but the comments won't bother you if you aren't ashamed of yourself.

And about twilight - absolutely - the stuff is messed up. It turns me into a chatty Cathy for sure - but I only seem to mean about half of what I say, or at least what I am told I say.

[remily]

If this happened in the US you should look up HIPPA laws regarding patient privacy. You may be eligible for compensation. The people involved will be fined 10,000 per violation.

[Tina P Hose]

I guess, just go to the hospital and tell them. The frigging nurse or whoever talked should be fired. Sorry to here about all the crap, hang tuff ! Was it a nice bra ??


LOL, just be funny !

But, who ever started the crap from the Hospital should be fired AND not eligable for unemployment compensation.

[MonicaJean]

HIPPA expressly forbids such talk outside of the confines of the time it's talked about. I strongly suggest raising the issue with their HR department. Things will be taken care of in ultra fast order & people will be fired. The law is written to protect the customer. You are the customer, you were not protected. It's that simple.

[Angie G]

That really sucks. Well I hope they get theirs some day.
Angie

[JulieK1980]

It would only take one of them to give a statement that the information was gossiped about, and the rest of them would be toast. Depending on how long ago it was, either HIPPA or the Patient Privacy Act would cover it, and I can guarantee the Doctor would Axe the nurses just to protect himself. I highly recommend talking to an attorney. Even if you lack the funds, call the ACLU they may be able to back you financially. And if nothing else just consult with one to see what your options are. Don't forget to notify the police of any vandalism to your car. You don't know their motive, it may be more malicious than just keying your car. Don't take chances!

[Andy66]

Thanks for the warning. I will need to be careful of what sedatives are used if the need arises. But... there shouldn't even be a need to be careful because the nurses should not be gossiping.

Whether you are able to sue depends in part on how long ago the nurses blabbed. You should see a lawyer to make sure. Even if the time for that has run out, you could still go complain to the hospital. Talk to someone high up the ladder if possible.

[DawnL]

Ginger
I'm not sure how long ago "some time ago" was but HIPPA has been here for awhile now. I graduated from nursing school in 2002 and we studied it then. I agree with others here that the hospital needs to know. They would like to avoid costly law suites. If proven the nurses will not only lose their jobs but possibly their license.

[Daniela76]

HIPPA is very important and everybody in health care is required to sign an agreement to not talk about patients.
I've been working in pharmacies & clinics for over 10 years and remember signing HIPPA non-disclosure agreements back then. Even before then there was the privacy act.
Everything that has been said here is true.
Don't be concerned with making waves. They're the ones who started this, breaking the law & hurting you in the process. Show them that you (and the rest of us, and anybody who has secrets to hide) won't take this lying down.
And don't worry about them not knowing who did this. They will know. Your records still exist if it was within 7 years. That is the federally mandated requirement for record retention. If it was close to 7 years, go get a copy of your chart for your own records. It isn't hard to do. Your chart will have the names of the doctor's & nurses who were working on you. Maybe not the names of technicians, but the others will be. if it was over 7 years, you may be out of luck for the records, but you can still talk to the place it happened at & they may be able to figure it out.

BTW, I know a lot about record release & HIPPA, so PM me when you can if you want to know more to help you. I'm sure other people here know also though. But I'm here for you.

[Evie08]

Ginger,

Document everything you can remember with specific dates what you remember so far and into the future. If any of the parking lot incidents happened within the last couple of months, there is a good chance that it may be been recorded by some security video camera and still be available. Because of the amount of storage space, video is not kept forever, so to preserve your case you or your attorney need to see if anything was captured before it gets erased.

Evie..

[Electra]

...
So much for the hypocratic oath!


Ginger

LOL. So that's what Hippocratic Oath has come to! Old Hippocraticus is probably turning in his grave.

[GingerLeigh]

I know that the events that unfolded are illegal. Not sure what we have in place of the HIPPA laws here though. However, there are several problems with taking legal action.
1) Did I not mention I am still in the closet? They may THINK they know, but nobody has EVER seen Ginger, and probably NEVER will. That is enough security for me to carry on in this poisoned workplace environment.
2) My wife has family working high up at the hospital. If fact I suspect he knows! Sometimes his comments are a little too close for comfort and quite specific.
3) I don't want to tell my SO. I''m sure to take some flak over this one. I feel that she stands to gain nothing by knowing. Quite the opposite. She stands to lose everything. I however gain freedom of action, and I am able to shake this cumbersome secret. Im MY mind, it would be selfish for me to disclose this as I am the only one to gain anything from it. She probably wouldn't leave because I want to dress, she would leave because I have kept this from her for so long and her sense of betrayal would be too immense to overcome.
4) The nurses in question were students observing the procedure at the time. They are friends of SO's of co-workers.
5) 10 years ago.

Go ahead, have at her. Ginger doesn't fight back. I might take exception though.

Ginger

[JulieK1980]

I know that the events that unfolded are illegal. Not sure what we have in place of the HIPPA laws here though. However, there are several problems with taking legal action.
1) Did I not mention I am still in the closet? They may THINK they know, but nobody has EVER seen Ginger, and probably NEVER will. That is enough security for me to carry on in this poisoned workplace environment.
2) My wife has family working high up at the hospital. If fact I suspect he knows! Sometimes his comments are a little too close for comfort and quite specific.
3) I don't want to tell my SO. I''m sure to take some flak over this one. I feel that she stands to gain nothing by knowing. Quite the opposite. She stands to lose everything. I however gain freedom of action, and I am able to shake this cumbersome secret. Im MY mind, it would be selfish for me to disclose this as I am the only one to gain anything from it. She probably wouldn't leave because I want to dress, she would leave because I have kept this from her for so long and her sense of betrayal would be too immense to overcome.
4) The nurses in question were students observing the procedure at the time. They are friends of SO's of co-workers.
5) 10 years ago.

Go ahead, have at her. Ginger doesn't fight back. I might take exception though.

Ginger

I'm afraid it doesn't sound as though your still in the closet now whether you like it or not. Students or not they are still liable, you may be past the time for legal action, (not sure if its the same in Canada) But I'd still press the issue.

[sterling12]

Whatever you said while under Mild Sedation is not germaine to anything medical! Whomever "outed" you has broken Patient Privacy Issues. The Hospital or Clinic where you had this work done is responsible for their employees. The Individual Nurse(s) who gossiped, have broken their own oath(es) that they took when they became a Nurse, professional ethical canons emphasize absolute patient privacy. Even if they were Student Nurses, they were advised about Patient Rights from the very beginning, and it's likely they also signed contracts with their school. They also had an Instructor who should have known better!

Get some actual proof! Statements from others about what they heard. Find out whom, what, where, and when, then have your Legal Counsel depose these people! If you can prove what you have written, That Medical Facility could lose millions, Your Nurse's Malpractice Insurance Company could lose millions, and my Unprofessional Colleague could lose his/her license, for a long, long, time. If it's true, they all deserve exactly what they would get!

Peace and Love, Joanie

[victoriamwilliams1]

Sounds like a lawsuit to me as well as a privacy violation. I know people who work in the Field and they will say a patient and they will never say the person name because of HIPPA.

[Bootsiegalore]

Get an attorney NOW and go at it!

BIG HIPPA Violation....... Your Dr and staff will be libel and Dr's have big deep pockets.....