B R Beemer | PubMed Health

PubMed1996

Gender dysphoria update.

Concepts of sexuality and gender identity are undergoing re-examination in society. Recent media attention has intensified interest in the area, although reliable information is sometimes lacking. Gender dysphoria, and its extreme form, transsexualism, frequently brings sufferers into contact with psychiatric, social, and mental health professionals, and surgical caregivers. Treatment of these patients often represents a challenge on many levels. Some guidelines for this care are outlined.

Female↗

PubMed1993

Hospital psychiatric units. Nonsmoking policies.

Establishing nonsmoking policies in hospitals--even on acute psychiatric units--requires patience, planning, and a bit of nerve. The benefits of such a move, however, can be significant for patients and staff. When Vancouver General Hospital implemented a complete indoor nonsmoking policy on its psychiatric assessment and inpatient psychiatry units, workplace conditions noticeably improved, and some long-standing beliefs about psychiatric patients were disproved. Several conditions provided the impetus to change to a nonsmoking policy. With a few exceptions (palliative care, the burn unit) the indoor areas were nonsmoking; nevertheless, the hospital environmental committee considered a site-wide (indoor and outdoor) ban on smoking. One reason was that the community funding that had provided psychiatric patients with cigarettes would soon be cut off. Another reason was that all psychiatry units were anticipating moving into the new hospital tower--a facility slated to be smoke-free--on its completion.

Ethics, Nursing↗