More Than a Rainbow: Pride as a Call to Care

By H.B., who wishes to remain anonymous

It is easy to dismiss Pride Month as a corporate marketing scheme, designed to sell clothes and accessories emblazoned with rainbows and other “gay” iconography. And, to some, that’s all it is—a month where rainbows become increasingly prominent. However, Pride carries with it a deep importance to the LGBTQ+ community, and beyond that, it serves as a reminder for those pursuing a medical education of how vulnerable that community is in terms of healthcare.

Being a member of the LGBTQ+ community comes with unique challenges in medicine. There is still an ever-present danger to revealing such a core aspect of your person. Questions of “will they judge me” are common, expanding into “could they hurt me,” especially in areas with low LGBTQ+ acceptance. Needing to find a physician is already a stressor; needing to find a physician who will not provide subpar medical care due to your identity adds additional layers of fear and stress that actively discourage many LGBTQ+ individuals from seeking medical care.

I have a personal story in that regard, one that has stuck with me through the years since it happened. When I was in college, a close friend of mine was assaulted by his partner, and he clearly needed medical care. My first thought was, “We need to go to a hospital.” When I voiced this, he immediately refused. This was before I identified as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and so all my prior healthcare experiences were through the lens of a heterosexual woman. I couldn’t understand why he was so reluctant to seek medical care, and I begged him again to go to an urgent care.

Again, he refused.

In my naiveté I asked why, and he told me this, “A doctor is just going to make this worse. The second they realize I’m gay, it doesn’t matter how hurt I am. If I’m going to get treated like ****, at least it’s my choice.”

There was nothing I could do or say to change his mind. That night ate away at his physical, emotional and mental health for years, and he still staunchly refuses any medical care.

That same hesitation that my friend expressed contributes to the reason that many LGBTQ+ individuals are at a greater risk for developing serious health concerns, such as depression, HIV/AIDS and cancer. It takes a single bad experience with a physician to color how someone views the healthcare system as a whole and potentially cause them to avoid seeking medical treatment to protect themselves.

From an osteopathic medical education perspective, Pride Month should be centered on learning and educating oneself to avoid contributing to the deep fear of healthcare that permeates the LGBTQ+ community. Learning terminology, familiarizing yourself with LGBTQ+ experiences and minimizing any internal biases are key aspects of becoming a culturally competent physician. Of course, many of us have heard that phrase a hundred times over and we all say that we want to be “culturally competent physicians.” It is easy to say. It is an entirely different and more difficult matter to take the steps to become one, especially in terms of the LGBTQ+ minority.

The greatest strength of an osteopathic education is that it teaches us to see each person as they are, with their unique stories and experiences that contribute to their health. Engaging in Pride, even if it is just reading the resources that are circulated each June on how to make your practice or hospital more inclusive, allows osteopathic physicians to continue to build excellence in all aspects of healthcare. It enables them to continually take steps towards being culturally competent physicians, even outside the confines of what we typically consider “culture.” The LGBTQ+ community has a culture, one that is just as beloved to its members as other cultures are to their people.

The reason that Pride is so important, even to those who are not part of the LGBTQ+ community, is because it invites those individuals into our world. It allows everyone to celebrate with us, to mourn with us and to fight for acceptance with us. By embracing Pride and the community, current and future physicians alike become familiar with the worry and pain that so many LGBTQ+ individuals associate with healthcare. It is my hope that this understanding is carried forward, and we work towards a country and a world where LGBTQ+ individuals feel safe seeking healthcare, one physician at a time.